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Rhetoric of Environmental Change Narratives
No full textFor many, ‘pure environmental science’ is inaccessible. Arduous content has created a divide between environmental researchers and their beneficiaries, leading audiences to seek secondary source interpretations, rather than primary research publications. This choice between science and science interpretation is a false dichotomy. Climate change dialogue is not merely a translation of research; rather, it is an ongoing conversation between individuals that seek to quantify biosphere change and authors that describe the qualities of this phenomenon and its wider implications. Measurable characteristics are coupled with affective attributes that blur the lines between ‘objective science’ and ‘subjective reporting’. Climate change dialogue has transitioned from being primarily data-driven to encompassing a diverse range of written commentaries, movies, art, podcasts, literature, movements, and more. Authors bring unique observations, interpretations, and perspectives inspired by anthropocentric change. Modern environmentalist rhetoric is not a colloquial understanding of scientific research, but instead, an entirely new branch of communication spurred by the common desire to document, comment on, and change the trajectory of human interaction with biosphere processes. This thesis examines the rhetoric strategies behind effective climate change commentaries, their relations to our current geologic and ideologic epochs, and mechanisms driving (in)action. This thesis attempts to answer: (1) What is the responsibility of modern authors in presenting current perspectives on climate change dialogue? and (2) How can authors best create accessible models for systematic environmental remediation and public responses?Englis
Characterizing Candidate Pingo Morphology on Ceres
No full textNASA’s Dawn Mission has been exploring Ceres since arrival in 2015. However, recent low-altitude Dawn orbits during its second extended mission (XM2) have brought the spacecraft as low as 35 km above the surface of Ceres, collecting an abundance of new high-resolution imaging data with the Framing Camera including possible evidence of pingos in Occator crater.
On Earth, pingos and other frost-heaves are a product of groundwater flow and freezing that create an ice-cored mound (e.g., Burr et al. 2008). An open-system pingo has a supply of water, where the groundwater is under artesian pressure, which causes uplift, and creates an ice core underneath the permafrost (Soare et al. 2014, Vasil’chuk et al. 2016). Contrastingly, the closed-system has a limited water supply that freezes and pushes sediments up into a dome, as hydrostatic pressure grows the ice lens. This can cause collapse or ruptures at the top of the pingo due to expanding or fluid material. Most terrestrial pingos are ~100 m in diameter but can grow up to 2 km (Burr et al. 2008). Candidate pingos on Mars range 20-1000 m (Burr et al. 2008), and thus comparisons between Ceres and these larger planets are possible.
Preliminary imaging results show ~170 domical features where some are candidate pingos. These formations could be evidence of frost heave, given that Ceres’ gravity could facilitate frost heaving (e.g., Sizemore et al. 2018), and likely emplacement of large-scale flows consisting of silicate materials entrained in melted ice during Occator’s formation. Out of all the mounds there are 76 features with apex depressions or pointed peak that are pingo candidates. Further, 55 of the 76 features have slopes under 45º, making them the strongest pingo candidates. In addition, there are approximately 15 features that are morphologically similar, but that require further investigation to disambiguate any relationship with frost heaving. Two large pingo candidates are ~500 m in diameter, and Occator’s central dome ~2 km wide is also a candidate. Several candidates have potential flows associated with or emanating from them. Observations also show other evidence of ground ice on Occator’s crater floor. These new imaging results help shed light on possible ground ice and periglacial analogs and will provide new ways to test hypotheses regarding both subsurface ice as well as the formation and evolution of large impacts on Ceres.Astronom
Area Expansion Versus Effective and Equitable Management in International Marine Protected Areas Goals and Targets
No full textThis paper draws on the published literature on marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine protected areas targets to argue that the MPA target (14.5) will dominate in the pursuit, measurement, and evaluation of the much broader ‘oceans’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015. MPAs are a ‘privileged solution’ in marine conservation, in part because their expansion is relatively easy to measure and there is opportunity for further expansion in the mostly unprotected global ocean. However, the evolution of MPA targets over time in organizations like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) illustrates the importance of other means for achieving conservation and of elements other than area coverage, including the need to ensure MPAs are effectively and equitably managed. By excluding these important, but contested, complex, and difficult to measure components, Target 14.5 is likely to be met. However, the meaning of this success will be limited without concerted efforts get beyond area coverage
International Affairs and Development
No full textThis summer, I had the privilege of representing my country, Pakistan, as a Junior Adviser at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City under the supervision of Deputy Permanent Representative Nabeel Munir and Ms. Saima Syed. As a government organization, the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations in accordance with the UN Charter, actively works with the international community to promote and maintain international peace and security, both as a member of the Security Council and through its contribution to UN Peacekeeping. During my internship, I participated in discussions and negotiations at the United Nations on a host of issues including human rights, peace building, anti-terrorism, development, climate change, and international law. My internship provided a unique insight to my International Relations major as I understood the motivations and interests that guide every state in global policy.In an increasingly globalized world, international affairs affect all of us in one way or another and shape the environment in which we live. This past summer, each of us worked for international NGOs and nonprofit organizations, working on a myriad of projects concerning different parts of the world. Our experiences include researching the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, working with the United Nations, researching Iran’s foreign policies, and working in the international development sector by providing support for elections in new and emerging democracies. Our panel will capture the range of experiences we went through as we tried to better the world from New York City and Washington D.C. Collectively, we gained valuable research experience as well as insights into the inner workings of international organizations and the realities of the world in which we live
The Metamorphic and Structural History of the Central Metasedimentary Belt Boundary Zone South of Killaloe; Felsic and Mafic Gneisses of the Muskoka Domain, Retrogressed from Granulite Facies During Multiple Tectonic Events
No full textThe Grenville Orogen in Ontario, Canada is composed of the Central Gneiss Belt (CGB) and the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB). The Central Metasedimentary Belt boundary zone (CMBbz) is a 10 km thick, ~200 km long crustal-scale shear zone composed of stacked crystalline thrust sheets and ductile shear zones that juxtapose the two. My study area is in the CMBbz near the town of Killaloe, Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this study is to constrain the metamorphic and structural history of this segment of the CMBbz, which is locally made up of three nappes. Specifically, we examined deformed gneisses at the base of the structurally lowest nappe, the Stafford thrust sheet. I examined two outcrops that represent mixed felsic and mafic orthogneiss lithologies of the CGB. Differing outcrop assemblages and textures provide evidence for multiple deformation events in the shear zone. At one outcrop on Ruby Road within the Stafford thrust sheet, metamorphic foliation shows variable orientations but generally dips to the east, and lineation is subhorizontal. Retrogressed orthopyroxene within the mafic gneiss suggests that peak metamorphism occurred within the granulite facies. A second outcrop, on Brudenell Road at the base of the Stafford sheet shows extremely well foliated straight gneisses. Strong foliation defined by straight gneiss layering dips shallowly to the east, and the lineation defined by quartz ribbons trends to the south. Quartz ribbons formed from a flattening mechanism outlined by Mandal et al. (1997). Many quartz ribbons are strain-free and polycrystalline, consistent with rapid recrystallization during high grade metamorphism. These observations are consistent with all of the deformation events occurring during a high-grade retrogression from granulite to upper amphibolite facies.Geolog
Development of Atomic Force Microscope Techniques for Extracting Work Function and Density of States
No full textIn order to understand potential novel electrical device applications for a material, it is critical to understand fundamental properties about how charges can move within the material. The density of states (DOS) is a measure of available states for charge carriers at a given energy level in a material. The work function of a material is related to the energy required to remove an electron from the material, which is necessary to understand what happens at the interface between two materials. Promising techniques to measure both of these properties involve using the nanometer-scale tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) to perform electrical measurements. This is done on devices in a transistor geometry, where the AFM tip is placed near the surface of a material and measures the electric potential at the surface in response to an applied back gate voltage; the rate of change of this response can be used to determine DOS and the value of the surface potential can be used to determine work function. DOS measurements can be improved by refining the gate voltage sweep rate necessary to avoid hysteresis. The techniques were implemented on control samples and on atomically thin two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide, a semiconductor that is attractive for potential electronic device applications. Future measurements of DOS and work function on molybdenum disulfide will allow for a better understanding of how molybdenum disulfide can be used in the development of novel transistors.Physic
On Index Divisibility in the Orbit of Zero Generated by Polynomial Iteration
No full textWe say that a sequence is a divisibility sequence if the n-th term divides the m-th term whenever n divides m. In 2007, Rice changed the course of papers related to divisibility sequences with his result in his undergraduate thesis at Harvey Mudd College that the orbit of zero of all polynomials without a linear term generates a rigid divisibility sequence. In 2017, Chen, Gassert, and Stange consider the index divisibility set of the orbit of zero of polynomials of monic polynomials. In a preprint, as a continuation of the previous paper, Gassert and Urbanski investigate the index divisibility set of the orbit of zero for monic polynomials with an additional term. In this thesis, we generalize many of the previous results to nonmonic polynomials. We provide full proofs of some of the previous known results where original authors supplied sketches and take into account the value of the leading coefficient. We also turn our attention toward divisibility sequences that are not rigid and conjecture how to adjust the results for rigid divisibility sequences to hold for nonrigid divisibility sequences.Mathematics & Statistic
Design Across Borders
No full textFor the past summer, I interned at Breeze consultancy, an architectural and engineering firm in Ethiopia. In the first couple of weeks, I learned the digital softwares AutoCAD and Revit. Although I had taken a digital design class at Mount Holyoke, I hadn’t realized how the need to use each kind of software changes based on the customer base and geographical settings. During most of my internship, I completed the plans and 3D models for multiple construction projects. Once I was well-equipped with the technical part of the job, I participated in the research aspect of the projects. I came up with design concepts for a church. I later finished the details of the presentation including material choices and plans. I found this part very exciting and enlightening because I learned very much. Furthermore, I learned skills outside of design such as communication and negotiation with clients.“Design Across Borders” presents cross-continental perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of architectural design. The panel encompasses the thought processes, research and design principles that different cultures, traditions and geographies learn and influence. It offers four worldly perspectives, as the students come from Ethiopia, Nepal, Malaysia, and the United States. The panelists utilized their knowledge and experience gained in Mount Holyoke studios, courses and seminars and applied it to develop projects in fields related to architecture. The design experiences range from residential, commercial and ecological to sustainability metrics and general contracting for simple to complex spaces. The panelists brought their knowledge and perspectives to small private firms and international non-profits. These internships allowed the panelists to gain practical skills in a wide range of fields within architecture and encouraged them to address key issues within the building design and construction industry
Media Production across Formats
No full textIn this panel, we explore different and new ways to produce media content, whether through social media, music festivals, advertisements, or entertainment. Through our professional experiences in media production this past summer, we gained knowledge about the industries we want to pursue after graduation. We’ve learned that acquiring an internship in media is certainly challenging and can be about chance, connections, or simply being persistent. One panel member worked as a lighting intern for BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn music festival; one member was a production intern for WKYU PBS and its television program, Lost River Sessions; another member was a social media intern at National Geographic and a creative intern at a budding socialist think tank, and one panelist was a video production intern at Emporia Entertainment. Each member of our panel had unique experiences working in male-dominated creative industries and applied their knowledge from Mount Holyoke coursework and leadership to navigate their responsibilities