UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.burial

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cumulative impacts of stream burial on network structure and functional connectivity in headwater stream systems
    (2015) Weitzell, Jr, Roy Everett; Elmore, Andrew J; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Stream burial is common during urbanization, and disproportionately affects headwater streams. Burial undermines the physical, chemical, and spatial processes governing aquatic life, with consequences for water quality and biodiversity, both within headwaters and in downstream waters. Network changes associated with headwater burial have not been explored, limiting our understanding of changes in biotic composition with urbanization of these critical ecosystems. To address this need, I predicted stream burial across the Potomac River Basin (PRB) from impervious cover data and training observations from high-resolution aerial photography. Results across the PRB urban gradient reveal consistent burial patterns related to catchment area and topographic slope. I discuss these results in the context of physiographic constraints on stream location and urban development, including implications for management of aquatic resources. Second, I examined burial-related changes to headwater network structure and habitat connectivity, using a series of topological and distance measures, and a novel application of circuit-theoretical modeling to stream networks. Results show stream burial significantly affects both the number and size of remnant stream segments and their spatial orientation. Significant decreases in landscape connectivity were observed with burial, around ecologically important features such as confluences, and for urbanized headwater systems as a whole. Third, I used biological data to compare environmental and spatial controls on species turnover in fish and insect communities across headwater systems. Turnover was analyzed using generalized dissimilarity modeling, which accommodates variation in rates of species turnover along and between gradients, and two novel measures of resistance distance, which combine aspects of space and environment, specifically the spatial extent, orientation, and relative favorability of habitat across the landscape. Results show headwater species are more sensitive to environmental parameters, with less mobile species more sensitive to habitat fragmentation and required dispersal distances. Rapid compositional turnover occurred within short distances from the sampled reaches, suggesting headwater taxa disperse only short distances, with even small obstructions or habitat loss having potential to impact diversity within headwater systems. Knowledge gained from this research is critical for understanding the cumulative impact to stream networks, and for future decision-making allowing for urban development while protecting stream ecosystem function.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    THE ARCHITECTURAL VESSELS OF THE MOCHE OF PERU (C.E. 200-850): ARCHITECTURE FOR THE AFTERLIFE
    (2010) Wiersema, Juliet Benham; Pillsbury, Joanne; Venit, Marjorie; Art History and Archaeology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation investigates sculpted representations of ritual architecture produced by the Moche (C.E. 200-850), a complex and socially-stratified society occupying Peru's north coast centuries before the formation of the Inca Empire. My study focuses on a single artifact type--the Moche architectural vessel--a portable fine ware ceramic container with a stirrup-shaped handle and straight spout which supports a miniature modeled building. Moche architectural vessels mimic the form of structures and features identified in full-scale Moche architecture. When discovered archaeologically, these objects accompany elite burials found within or in close proximity to Moche ritual architecture, or huacas. For art historians and archaeologists, these portable artifacts constitute one of the most important sources of data on Moche ritual architecture and as such, permit us a more nuanced understanding of ancient ceremonial structures which have been compromised by centuries of erosion, treasure hunting, and cataclysmic events. While Moche architectural vessels have been considered simple and somewhat generic representations of temples or temple complexes, my study suggests these objects instead relay explicit information about geographically, temporally, or ideologically specific ritual structures. In this dissertation, I propose a practical method for "decoding" these objects and demonstrate that, once deciphered, Moche architectural vessels can elucidate the original form, function, and ideological significance of Moche ceremonial architecture. My research draws upon several disciplines including art history, anthropology, ethnography, and ethnomusicology. Important contributions include the assembly of the first Moche architectural vessel corpus (169 vessels), the creation of a detailed 10-type Moche architectural vessel typology, a new method for visualizing these objects, and the discovery that several vessels are additionally acoustic artifacts. My study presents a new investigative model, applicable to other areas in the ancient Andes and Mesoamerica, where, for millennia, ceramic representations of architecture formed an important part of burial ritual. Moche architectural vessels also engage in a cross-cultural dialogue with architectural representations made for burial by other ancient cultures around the globe, including Han Dynasty China, Middle Kingdom Egypt, Iron Age Italy, Ancient West Mexico, and Aztec Mexico. They also illuminate the rich potential of ceremonial objects made by advanced societies without text-based histories.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Nutrient Removal by Tidal Fresh and Oligohaline Marshes in a Chesapeake Bay Tributary
    (2005-11-22) Greene, Sarah E; Boynton, Walter R; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Located at the interface between estuaries and surrounding uplands, tidal marshes are in position to receive and transform material from both adjacent systems. Of particular importance in eutrophic estuarine systems, tidal marshes permanently remove nutrients via two mechanisms - denitrification and long-term burial. Denitrification was measured (monthly) in two marshes in a Chesapeake Bay tributary for 7 months, using the MIMS technique. Burial of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) was measured using 210Pb techniques. Strong spatial and temporal patterns emerged, and there was a Michaelis-Menten type response in denitrification rates to experimentally elevated nitrate levels. Denitrification rates measured may account for removal of 22% of N inputs to the upper estuary on an annual basis. Burial rates could account for 30% of N inputs and 60% of P inputs. Based on the cost of nutrient control technologies, Patuxent marsh nutrient removal may be valued at $10 to 30 million yr-1.