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.
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Item Chronic Inundation: Developing An Outdoor Education Center For Threatened Communities(2020) Duan, Amy Tzu-Yu; May, Lindsey; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Effects of climate change, like sea-level rise, extreme weather, and chronic inundation are damaging historic cultural resources and landscapes along the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Maryland’s Eastern Shore is highly susceptible to these effects due to its naturally low-lying topography and its abundance of historic towns and heritage resources. Historic coastal communities are struggling to address the vulnerability of their historic assets due to the fragility of the resources and current preservation methods. This evolving landscape is not only reshaping the way people live but how tangible heritage is being preserved for the community, the region’s identity, and future generations. Adaptation of historic communities to climate change is more urgent than ever as the severity of climate pollution projections increases with every climate pollution report and analysis. This thesis aims to explore structural resiliency techniques and public education and awareness strategies to protect Maryland’s historic and cultural resources, specifically focusing on chronic inundation. It will examine Cambridge, Maryland, a historic coastal city on the Eastern shore, to develop an outdoor education center to service the region and support resiliency efforts and exploration.Item A Process for Developing and Revising a Learning Progression on Sea Level Rise Using Learners' Explanations(2016) McDonald, Robert Christopher; McGinnis, James R; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the process of developing a learning progression (LP) on constructing explanations about sea level rise. I used a learning progressions theoretical framework informed by the situated cognition learning theory. During this exploration, I explicitly described my decision-making process as I developed and revised a hypothetical learning progression. Correspondingly, my research question was: What is a process by which a hypothetical learning progression on sea level rise is developed into an empirical learning progression using learners’ explanations? To answer this question, I used a qualitative descriptive single case study with multiple embedded cases (Yin, 2014) that employed analytic induction (Denzin, 1970) to analyze data collected on middle school learners (grades 6-8). Data sources included written artifacts, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews. Additionally, I kept a researcher journal to track my thinking about the learning progression throughout the research study. Using analytic induction to analyze collected data, I developed eight analytic concepts: participant explanation structures varied widely, global warming and ice melt cause sea level rise, participants held alternative conceptions about sea level rise, participants learned about thermal expansion as a fundamental aspect of sea level rise, participants learned to incorporate authentic scientific data, participants’ mental models of the ocean varied widely, sea ice melt contributes to sea level rise, and participants held vague and alternative conceptions about how pollution impacts the ocean. I started with a hypothetical learning progression, gathered empirical data via various sources (especially semi-structured interviews), revised the hypothetical learning progression in response to those data, and ended with an empirical learning progression comprising six levels of learner thinking. As a result of developing an empirically based LP, I was able to compare two learning progressions on the same topic. By comparing my learning progression with the LP in Breslyn, McGinnis, McDonald, and Hestness (2016), I was able to confirm portions of the two learning progressions and explore different possible pathways for learners to achieve progress towards upper anchors of the LPs through targeted instruction. Implications for future LP research, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and policy related to learning progressions are presented.Item SEA LEVEL RISE AND ITS ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON NAVAL INSTALLATIONS(2015) Schedel, Angela Luzier; Baecher, Gregory B; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Global sea level is rising. Coastal lands are at risk from eventual inundation, property loss and economic devaluation. The threat is impending but not rapidly approaching. With sea level rise projections ranging from 0.1 meters to 2 meters by the year 2100, there are concerns but little action being taken to adapt and prepare. Given the potential economic impact of future flood events, it appears that many government agencies and municipalities are not taking enough action to prevent the threat of sea level rise. Due to its large footprint of real estate within the coastal zone worldwide, one of the largest organizations threatened directly by sea level rise is the U.S. Navy. Adapting to sea level rise will require strategic planning and policy changes in order to prevent the encroaching sea from limiting naval operations and threatening national security. This study provides a tool to aid Navy decision makers in Implementing Sea Level Adaptation (ISLA). The ISLA tool applies the methodology of decision trees and Expected Monetary Value (EMV), using probability to estimate the cost of potential flood damage and compare this cost to adaptation measures. The goal of this research is for ISLA to empower decision makers to evaluate various adaptation investments related to sea level rise. A case study is used to illustrate the practical application of ISLA. The case study focuses on when to implement a variety of adaptation measures to one asset at the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia. However, its method can be applied to any asset in any location. It is not limited to only military bases. ISLA incorporates a unique method for analyzing the implementation of adaptation measures to combat future coastal flooding which will be worsened by sea level rise. It is unique in its use of decision tree theory to combine the probability of future flood events with the estimated cost of flood damage. This economic valuation using Expected Monetary Value allows for comparison of a variety of adaptation measures over time. The projections of future flood damage costs linked to adaptation allows the decision maker to determine which adaptation measures are economically advantageous to implement and when to implement them.Item Time and Form: Designing in the Fourth Dimension(2013) Petersen, Sasha Nicole; Lamprakos, Michele; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The human vision for the built environment is characterized by contradictory ideals. Society values buildings that are able to resist or at least mask the degradation that occurs over time so that they can continue to serve their intended purposes and yet, society also romanticizes the fragmentary and deeply evocative ruin that has been completely surrendered to the weathering effects of the environment. Would it be possible to design continually functioning buildings that make the natural and human forces of change manifest, thus developing a narrative that represents more honestly our own fundamental relationship with time? This thesis will investigate how architecture can serve as a record of change in our surroundings and extend our temporal awareness beyond the present condition. To this aim, interpretation center that addresses sea level rise will serve as a testing ground.Item A Competitive Interaction and Dominance Experiment Between the Vegetative Marsh Species Phragmites australis and Spartina Cynosuroides Under Elevated Nitrogen and Salinity Levels(2013) Arthur, Michelle Lynn; Baldwin, Andrew; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In recent decades the invasive plant Phragmites australis (common reed) has spread throughout Chesapeake Bay marshes, lowering plant community biodiversity. Excess nutrient loading and salinity intrusion due to sea-level rise make these marshes vulnerable to invasions. This study examined the interaction between Phragmites australis and the native Spartina cynosuroides (big cordgrass) to determine whether dominance of one species was detected across a range of salinity and nitrogen treatments. Aboveground biomass production of P. australis was greater than S. cynosuroides at lower salinities; however, S. cynosuroides maintained biomass production as salinity increased. Fv/Fm ratios were measured as an indirect measurement of plant tissue physiological health; only Spartina maintained the ratio at higher salinities. Nitrogen addition increased Phragmites biomass and Fv/Fm ratio at higher salinities. Results suggest salinity and nitrogen interactively affect Phragmites biomass production, and that the negative effect of increased salinity on Phragmites spread can be mitigated by nitrogen runoff.Item MARSH ELEVATION AND ACCRETION DYNAMICS ALONG ESTUARINE SALINITY GRADIENTS: OBSERVATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES(2009) Beckett, Leah Hope-Menzies; Baldwin, Andrew H; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Chesapeake Bay marshes are threatened by sea level rise and have experienced degradation as a result of saltwater intrusion and increased water levels. Rates of elevation and accretion change and vegetation communities may be affected by salt water intrusion and other processes as a result of sea level rise. An observational study of the Nanticoke River, a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, utilizing surface elevation tables (SET) reflected that during the course of a two year study period, rates of marsh elevation change differed significantly along an estuarine salinity gradient. Surface elevation of oligohaline marshes decreased during the monitoring period and were significantly different from mesohaline marshes which increased in elevation. An experimental study in Patuxent River tidal freshwater marshes in which plots were irrigated with saltwater indicated that with saltwater intrusion vegetation communities may become less diverse.Item The effect of sea level rise on seagrasses: Is sediment adjacent to retreating marshes suitable for seagrass growth?(2005-12-13) Wicks, Elinor Caroline; Koch, Evamaria W; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Salt marsh retreat resulting from sea level rise creates new subtidal substrate (old marsh peat) for seagrasses, which is usually unvegetated. The hypothesis that sediment characteristics of old marsh peat are limiting to <em>Zostera marina</em> was tested in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and in controlled experiments. A unique aspect of the study site is an eroding dune within the marsh that supplies sand to the subtidal. The organic content and sulfide concentrations of old marsh peat were not limiting <em>Z. marina</em> growth and seagrasses were able to colonize the old marsh peat if a layer of sand covered it. The lack of <em>Z. marina<em/> in old marsh peat may be due to a plant morphology that is highly susceptible to dislodgement. These findings suggest that seagrass distribution may be negatively affected by sea level rise as seagrasses may be unable to migrate shoreward due to unsuitable sediments adjacent to retreating marshes.