2199 research outputs found
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Comparative analysis of treatment efficiency of PPCPs in wastewater and drinking water plant in Northeastern Ohio
No full textPharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are one group of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) that have the potential to impact water quality and human health. Currently, PPCP monitoring and reporting is not mandatory according to state or federal laws, and more often water treatment plants are not directed to remove PPCPs This study monitored and compared treatment efficiencies of separate drinking water and wastewater treatment plants (DWTP and WWTP) in Northeastern Ohio, focusing on their ability to remove PPCPs. This study also examined if environmental variables have a role in altering PPCP concentrations in water treatment plants. Samples were collected from the Sandusky Water Treatment Facility and Kent wastewater reclamation plant in the summer of 2018. PPCPs were determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Screening for antibiotic-resistant bacteria from source water was also conducted using LB agar plates. The concentration of nutrients and environmental variables, including soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chlorophyll-a, were measured using standard methods. Chlorophyll-a and nitrate concentrations were comparatively higher at the point of discharge in the Kent WWTP compared to the source water at the DWTP in Sandusky. Future work will involve monitoring PPCP concentrations in water treatment plants with different treatment processes (e.g., UV, biofiltration, ozone) to better understand the efficacy of filtration techniques in successful removal of these contaminants from water systems
Geodesic Filter
No full textThis geodesic Dome has vegetation built with the structure. It has microclimate greenhouses on the exterior. The vegetation on the exterior of the building and inside of the microclimates are plants specifically chosen because of their ability to clean the air and create more oxygen. The interior is a research center that focuses on creating more microclimates as well as filtering water pollution with Plants. The parts of the Center is open to the public to educate them like a botanical garden. I am researching what micro climates can survive in Cleveland green houses and what they need to function
Ruptured stream anticline pools as Portage Escarpment habitat features
No full textIntroduction On Cleveland\u27s urbanized Portage Escarpment, small Lake Erie tributary ravines show degraded anthropogenic aquatic habitats. Escarpment ravines also have small geological features called stream anticlines which, when naturally ruptured, produce channel pools that tend to improve habitat. Problem At the base of deep ravines within the local Devonian shale sedimentary sequence, small, non-tectonic stream anticlines are notable upwarp deformation features. As exposed anticline crests naturally rupture and erode, aquatic pools form within the resident stream channel. Watershed scientists assess such pools as healthy habitat features but do not link them with discreet geological process. Synthesizing from both sciences, a significant Portage Escarpment habitat feature type is proposed. Results In the escarpment ravines of Cleveland\u27s urban Heights, flashy stream flows reduce aquatic habitat to scoured bedrock channels and isolated gravel bars. Nevertheless, where ruptured stream anticlines produce channel pools, habitat assessments (HHEI, QHEI) show higher than expected scores. Ruptured anticline features are herein identified for Devonian sedimentary units within the Doan Brook-Frontal Lake Erie administrative watershed. Significant pool habitat features are enumerated. Conclusion In Portage Escarpment ravines, ruptured stream anticline channel pools are underappreciated aquatic habitat features. When appearing in scoured bedrock channels typical of local urban hydrology, such pools can enhance habitat health. With the systematics of anticline pools in hand, escarpment ravine habitat restorations can better build upon local natural conditions. In any event, ruptured anticline pools should be preserved as natural components in aquatic habitat health
Using VPCA Analysis to Determine Impact of Main Contaminants in Euclid Creek
No full textVilla Angela beach in Northeast Ohio has been closed multiple times over the past decade due to high influxes of E. Coli bacteria. Problems often arise after large rain storms due to the flooding of multiple combined sewer overflow systems feeding into the streams of the Euclid Creek watershed and being deposited off the shore of the beach. This project is an attempt to use discharge data to assess times of high flow and assess the content and contamination influx of these dates using specific remote sensing techniques. Landsat-8 images were combined with the KSU spectral decomposition method of image analysis, which employs varimax-rotated principal component analysis (VPCA) to determine the main contributors to the water’s overall content and their interaction with the aquatic systems in the lake and around the mouth of the creek. This more cost- and time-effective method can reduce potential biases in traditional remote sensing techniques by separating individual components based on their respective spectral fingerprints and comparing against a known library of spectra.</p
Getting to the root of soil carbon sequestration: tracking fine root carbon losses and soil carbon gains
No full textFine roots of woody plants are the greatest terrestrial source of carbon (C) to soils, hence represent a major flux of C out of the atmosphere. While the decomposition rates of many tree species’ roots have been measured in other experiments, such information doesn’t address how much root C is ultimately incorporated into microbial biomass, respired, leached to dissolved organic C pools, or stabilized as soil particulate organic matter (POM). We explored two different pathways by which plant litter becomes stabilized in soil: a physical pathway, where root fragments are protected from decomposition by microorganisms in soil aggregates, and a biochemical pathway, where labile plant tissues are utilized by microorganisms that, in turn, bond with minerals to form stable soil C. In two two-year long decomposition experiments with four tree species’ roots that had contrasting chemical and morphological properties, we monitored losses of root C and gains of C in various soil C pools. Preliminary results suggest that root morphology strongly affects which decomposition pathway predominates. Roots with smaller diameter and specific root length lose more C to fragmentation, becoming occluded in POM, while thicker roots contribute more C to microbial and dissolved organic pools, which have faster C turnover rates. Overall, more root C was stabilized in soil from roots with thin, highly-branched roots. Understanding which plant traits affect a tree’s potential as a C sink is important for improving our accounting of carbon in forests in a changing climate
Landuse/Landcover (LULC) change modeling of Old Woman Creek (OWC)Watershed using Remote Sensing and GIS
No full textThis study employs Markov chain model and Cellular Automation analysis to analyze the land use/land cover change of Old Woman Creek watershed in Ohio from 1992 to 2018 and to predict same for 2022 and 2026. Supervised classification was carried out on preprocessed 1992, 2003, 2013 and 2018 Landsat images to produce four main LULC categories namely; Agriculture, Urban, Forest/wetland and Water. Different GIS layers needed as input for Markov chain were produced with the same scale and spatial resolution. Data analysis showed that road is a major driver of urbanization in OWC watershed with farthest distances from road being about 1470m. Change detection analysis was conducted between 2 different time period namely 1992-2003 and 2003- 2013 to study the rate and pattern of urban growth. Urban growth rate was found to be less than 1% of the watershed per annum in both time period. Transition probability matrix was generated to show the rate of conversion of one LULC class to another after a period. Initial simulation was validated with 2103 and 2018 LULC map with the accuracy ranging from 95% to 99% for all the LULC classes. LULC will be simulated for 2022 and 2026 and the projected area and percentage change in each of the LULC classes will be discussed with emphasis to loss and growth. This study provides a good strategy for LULC monitoring for management practices and assesses the efficacy of the modeling method
Ohio History Fall 2019
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10119/OH-v126n2-thumb.jpgOHIO HISTORY
Contents for Volume 126, Number 2, Fall 2019
Contributors ...... 4
A Lesson for All Rebels at Home: The Holmes County, Ohio, Rebellion of 1863 Revisited
Stephen E. Towne ...... 5
Lima: The Vibrant Life and Uncertain Death of a Train Town
Perry Bush ...... 38
Preserving Local History in Three Dimensions
Jerrad Lancaster ...... 64
Book Reviews ...... 88
On the cover: David Tod (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)</p
Eutrophication: can we reverse the process with Algae?
No full textEutrophication is hallmarked by excessive algal growth due to the increased availability of inorganic and organic compounds in the water. Pollution is usually one of the major reason that induces eutrophication. In addition, polluted water is one of the leading factors that induce a wide range of diseases, especially in children. Currently about 45% of U.S. streams, 40% of America’s rivers, 47% of lakes, and 32% of bays are polluted, which are not suitable for drinking, swimming, fishing nor aquatic lives. To ensure the quality, residential water is usually suppled after treatment, and the water treatment also induces toxic components, for example, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and bromodichloromethane, which both are cancer inducers. The national average concentration of these compounds in tap water are 4.92 ppb (part per billion) and 4.31 ppb respectively. In groundwater, the nitric components are one of the major contaminants, which significantly promote the growth of green algae, leading to eutrophication. Single cell algae Chlorella is one of the common algae that involves in eutrophication, and our recent study indicated it also can help reduce the concentration of some contaminants, including TCA, iron, and nitric oxide. This support our hypothesis that green algae can absorb the pollutants and reduce their concentration in the water to reverse the eutrophication
Improving Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Feasibility: Predicting Turbine Airfoil Performance Via Wind Tunnel Experimentation
No full textVertical-axis wind turbines have a unique advantage over traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines, because they can operate at lower wind speeds. These wind speeds are typically encountered during a majority of days in the Midwest region of the United States, as well as other locations in the world. Vertical-axis wind turbine configurations have some significant advantages over horizontal-axis wind turbines. One major advantage is their size, they are small enough that they can be used in a more densely populated urban area; however, performance challenges prevent these vertical configurations from being widely integrated. One possible design solution is a spherical vertical axis turbine, employing a sequence of airfoils on the struts comprising the sphere. The objective of this research is to measure and assess the aerodynamic properties of different airfoils and predict their performance through one complete rotation. Kent State University\u27s subsonic wind tunnel was utilized to collect the airfoil data on two airfoil shapes: the NACA 0012 and NACA 2412, at two low-speed Reynolds-numbers: 50,000 and 100,000. Conventional correction factors and curve-fitting techniques are applied to the experimental data. Using the resulting data, the optimal airfoil placements can be predicted to create a working model for further testing and implications. It is expected that the results of these experiments will assist in improving the performance of vertical-axis wind turbine configurations over a wide range of wind speeds, thus expanding the operational feasibility envelope of wind turbines as important sources of renewable energy
A tale of two communities; The characterization of an urban neighborhood for community issues and urban forests in East Cleveland from two different stakeholders.
No full textGeospatial narrative was developed as a qualitative GIS approach to extend current GIS data capture capabilities. This method allows the integration of narrative interpretation with GIS to understand ephemeral and physical qualities of a location. This methodology can help assess the quality of a community and identify issues. The issues monitored by stakeholders can include failing infrastructure, vacancy, and crime for the community and disease, poor maintenance, and vandalism for urban forests. With geospatial narrative these issues can be mapped and analyzed. This project will study two geospatial narratives, from urban forestry and community stakeholders, in East Cleveland. A correlation will be determined from the data collected from the two narratives by extracting a set of keywords from each narrative. This data will assess the quality of a neighborhood and the urban forest. The project will determine whether geospatial narratives are reliable alternatives available to use for site analysis. Mapping the data from the narrative will identify a relationship with the quality of a neighborhood and the existing urban forest. This project will consult primary sources that have previously used geospatial narrative to understand methodology and results. This data offers a more considerate analysis for planning and design. Converting the stakeholder’s assessment and input into mapped data, allows for a more holistic and complete analysis of the site, which can increase the overall success of the design