Pollution Tolerance of Crayfish Ectosymbionts (Branchiobdellidans)

Undergraduate Basi

Open-Source Code for Radium-Derived Ocean-Groundwater Modeling: Project Open RaDOM

Radium has been commonly used as a tracer of submarine groundwater discharge to the ocean and embankments, as radium activities are commonly input into box models to calculate a groundwater flux. Similarly, isotopes of radium (Ra224, Ra223, Ra226, Ra228) have been used to calculate water mass ages, which have been used as a proxy for residence times. Less commonly, radium and other tracers have been utilized in mixing models to determine the relative contribution of groundwater to a marine system. In the literature, all of these methods have almost exclusively been solved using analytical methods prone to large errors and other issues. Project Open RaDOM, introduced here, is a collection of open-source R scripts that numerically solve for groundwater flux, residence time, and relative contribution of groundwater to coastal systems. Solving these models numerically allows for over-constrained systems to increase their accuracy and force real solutions. The scripts are written in a way to make them user-friendly, even to scientists unfamiliar with R. This communication includes a description of the scripts in Project Open RaDOM, a discussion of examples in the literature, and case studies of the scripts using previously published data

A Cohort-Based Program to Help Students Prepare a Conference Research Presentation

Students move through many first time experiences when navigating their undergraduate and graduate education. Such experiences include the first time students submit an article to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, attend a conference, and conduct fieldwork. The cohort model has been shown to be effective in increasing success in undergraduate education, and it can be adapted to helping students succeed in these novel experiences as well. This presentation will explore one program where the cohort model was implemented to aid undergraduate students preparing their first conference presentation on a scientific research project. Program structure and implementation will be described

Groundwater Discharge in the Arctic: A Review of Studies and Implications for Biogeochemistry

Groundwater discharge, including submarine groundwater discharge, discharge to lakes and rivers, and subglacial discharge, affects freshwater and marine ecosystems across the globe. The implications for biogeochemistry include the transport of nutrients, metals, and gases to these systems. The Arctic is one region of the globe that has been understudied with respect to groundwater discharge until recently, when a handful of studies sought to understand the nature of groundwater discharge and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Those studies are summarized here, and the implications for biogeochemistry are synthesized. Carbon and nitrogen are the most frequently studied solutes with respect to groundwater discharge in the Arctic. The transport of carbon and nitrogen through groundwater discharge are discussed across study sites, and scientists expect their transport through this mechanism to significantly change with the onset of climate change. The Arctic is of special interest in terms of groundwater discharge, as climate change data predicts that it will warm faster than other environments. Lastly, the effects of climate change on the physical and biogeochemical aspects of groundwater discharge in the Arctic are discussed, as are research priorities

A Brief History of Lake Okeechobee: A Narrative of Conflict

Lake Okeechobee is Florida’s largest lake, the largest lake in the Southeast United States, and the second largest lake contained entirely within the United States. The history of this inland sea is marked both by natural processes, and more recently human development and intervention. Adventurers can explore this behemoth of a waterway via the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail that enriches it, a part of the Florida National Scenic Trail. This paper synthesizes major natural and human-induced perturbations that shaped the lake and ultimately the trail that encircles it to create a narrative of Florida’s great lake. The story of Lake Okeechobee is a story of battles, first between the land and sea, then between the lake itself and humankind. For the past few centuries Lake Okeechobee’s natural perturbations in water flow and flooding resisted the control of man, until recently when man triumphed, managing to control the flow of water in and out of the lake. Unfortunately, with this new found control a new bioecological threat in the form of harmful algal blooms has emerged, which again threatens the health and livelihood of South Floridians. Currently there are new efforts that seek to restore Lake Okeechobee towards a more natural state in an effort to thwart the blooms

The Usage of Black Humor in Psychotherapy

In this paper the authors describe, discuss, comment and analyze the relationship between humor and suicide. Humors are in the context of suicidal and other depressive events a controversial and at the first site an inappropriate theme. But, it can be seen in many ways in the sphere of so called black humor. Black humor is the main type of humor used in suicidal themes. There are thousands of caricatures and jokes that can be found on that motive, and consecutively can be used in psychotherapy. The psychotherapeutic value of humor lies in the fact that humor as well as laughter and sleep can represent normal autoplastic adaptation. But black humor is not a source of aesthetic experience. The identification of the humor consumer with the caricaturist or the author of the joke is of basic importance and has therapeutic value. Looking at suicidal caricatures and listening to black humor jokes it can produce aversive feelings in potential suicidal person and clarified him the attitude of other people toward his eventual act. So, humor can prevent auto-destructive attentions. Although the paradoxical intention is forbidden it is effective with a wide range of neurotic symptoms (so often in suicidal personalities), and other types of problems, but it is really dangerous when used in the treatment of endogenous depression

Gender Differences in AGU Journals

Gender differences in the geoscience field have kept women away from equal opportunities and success. The current study addresses gender differences within journals published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This organization is the largest geology society comprising 60,000 members, but only 20% are women. This study replicates another study performed in astronomy. The astronomy study measured the gender differences in the number of citations that each work from female and male authors have obtained. The findings showed that the gender differences decreased over time, but overall women receive 10% fewer citations than men. The current research seeks to discover the gender differences in geophysical journals, specifically journals published by AGU. It is expected that men will receive more citations in their academic work than women in these journals. This study expects to have a similar outcome as the astronomy study. The current study gathered citation data for AGU journals that have published at least ten years of volumes. Currently, the study is working on fixing the citations and finding the first names of the authors to determine whether they are female or male. Preliminary data of on publication statistics of the journals will be presented at the symposium

The Interplay Between Human Habitation Impacts Barrier Island Development

A school of thought exists that habitation on tree islands in the Everglades intensified development of those islands. Barrier islands too change in response to human influences, a modern-day analogy is infrastructure built on barrier islands to reduce erosion. So too may pre-Columbian Native American settlements around Florida have influenced the development of barrier islands around the state. This presentation will display preliminary data to show how sediment data from excavations can be used to elucidate the relationship between barrier island structures and human habitation and invite collaborators to join a project to better understand this relationship