What’s Up, (re)Dox? Hydrologic Modeling of Arsenic Contamination in Boca Raton, Florida

Arsenic is a naturally-occurring metallic element that has been used by humans for thousands of years as a pesticide. It is the primary contaminant of concern at the Ocean Breeze Maintenance Area site, at the larger former Ocean Breeze Golf Club in Boca Raton, Florida. Initial sampling showed Arsenic in groundwater; however, though alleged, dumping by vandals was later shown to be unlikely based on the persistent, moderate concentrations and depth of impacted groundwater (8-12 feet below land surface), and without intervening soil impacts. Despite this, elevated concentrations of Arsenic have been detected in on-site monitor wells since 2011. Why did Arsenic concentrations increase after the onset of monitoring, despite the apparent absence of source material? We attempted to solve this problem by constructing a hydrologic model of the Ocean Breeze site, to determine first the flow of the water in the area and the source of the Arsenic contamination. Our results revealed a plume of Arsenic contaminated water in the direction of the natural groundwater flow, which is important as no upgradient source has been identified in another monitor well, or in surface water or sediment in a nearby pond. Likewise, no natural source of Arsenic had been determined. Sampling and monitoring at this site has determined that contamination does not appear to be the result of golf course operations or illegal dumping. Further study is ongoing at this time, focusing on the potential for oxygenation of buried, native sediments to release the Arsenic observed in monitor well samples

On the Streets and In the Suburbs: Photographers of the American Social Landscape, 1963-1976

Three American photographers came to prominence during the years bracketed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the American Bicentennial in 1976. Lee Friedlander (born 1934), Garry Winogrand (1928-1984), and Robert Adams (born 1937) each used an emotionally detached, "documentary-style" approach to picture the rapidly changing social landscape of this period. This dissertation aims to bring a fresh perspective to select bodies of work by these photographers. Though each chapter is intended as a singular discussion of specific projects, the essays are united by a methodological approach grounded in social art history, rather than the rhetoric of "photographic" formalism as espoused by John Szarkowski, who promoted the work of these three photographers through exhibitions and publications during his tenure as Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York from 1962-1991. Significantly, the interpretations retain an appreciation for the unique aesthetic aspects of the photographs as they were informed by the historical moment in which they were produced and received. The first chapter focuses on Garry Winogrand's Public Relations, situating the photographs within the context of a burgeoning critical discourse about the impact of television and the mass media on social behavior as articulated by such writers as Daniel J. Boorstin and Marshall McLuhan. The second chapter reconsiders Winogrand's Women are Beautiful, and focuses on Winogrand's photographs of female subjects on the streets and in the public spaces of New York City within the context of the women's liberation movement and the sexual revolution. Robert Adams's photographs of suburban sprawl and industrial development along the Colorado Front Range and the Denver metropolitan area, which comprised three related series--The New West, Denver and What We Bought--are the focus of the third chapter. This essay proposes a new interpretation of Adams's photographs as rooted in a long tradition of American Transcendentalist thought and contemporaneous environmentally conscious writing. The fourth and final chapter focuses on Lee Friedlander's The American Monument, and considers these photographs as they resonate with the themes of history, memory, and patriotism in the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate

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

Comparison of Measurement Accuracy Between Caliper and iPhone Apps

Measurements of bone artifacts can give insight into the influence of ecological resources on the survival and health of area inhabitants. Calipers are traditionally used for accurate measurements for shell and bone artifacts. Measurement apps may present an accurate alternative to calipers. In this experiment shell and bone artifacts were measured with calipers, the Ruler iPhone App, and the ARuler iPhone app. The results of this experiment show no statistical difference in the measurements taken using a caliper vs measurements taken on an iPhone apps. Though they were not statistically significant, there were differences in measurements between the various methods

A Laboratory Analysis of Faunal Artifact Water Retention and Diagenesis

Submerged artifacts can be altered by water and made more fragile. Due to climate change, groundwater tables have been slowly rising submerging artifacts, altering their makeup, and changing the information that can be acquired from them. This investigation was performed on bone artifacts excavated in 2018 in the Southeastern Florida. After identification, bones were initially weighed, submerged in water for 48 hours, weighed, dried for 48 hours, and finally weighed. The results of statistical analyses indicate that some types of bone artifacts can absorb far greater quantities of water, which alter their weight, while others are less receptive

Assessing Paleoenvironmental Change of a Boca Raton Inlet Through Midden Artifact Analysis

In this archeological study of a shell midden, we evaluate possible environmental and cultural changes that occurred through time by performing a quantitative analysis of shell artifacts of Giant False Donax (Iphigenia brasiliana) and Common Atlantic Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) collected from the shell midden. Middens are archeological trash sites used by researchers to identify artifacts used by past populations to understand their behaviors. The artifacts collected in shallow portion of the midden are younger (therein representing more recent time periods) and the artifacts collected at the deeper portion are older artifacts (therein representing older time periods). The main goals of this study are 1) Characterize the Giant False Donax in the South Florida Midden as previous studies were only performed in Brazil. 2) Evaluate shell size and morphology change in Common Atlantic Oyster and Giant False Donax with depth through time, and 3) Analyze shell assemblage data and the abundance of parasitic sponges on the Common Atlantic Oyster as indicators of environmental change with depth and through time. Combining these three points together will provide a cohesive story of how the environment changed through time and potentially impacted Oyster and Donax shell morphology. Note: While I requested an oral presentation, if I am not selected for that I would like to present a poster under the category of sustainabilit

Characterization of the Giant False Donax in a South Florida Midden

Iphigenia brasiliana is a species of shell found mainly in Brazil, the Carribean, and Florida. The common name is Tarioba, and it is found in the north and northwest regions of Brazil. In the United States, this shell is known as the Giant false donax. This research analyzes shell samples of the Iphigenia brasiliana collected from South Inlet Park in Boca Raton, Florida. The goal was to characterize size and weight of the samples and create a histogram. This data is compared to data from Brazilian literature and journals to provide species descriptions for archaeologists who might encounter this species in Florida

Incorporating altered fire frequency scenarios in species distribution models improves climate change predictions for tropical savanna birds

Biodiversity conservation in the face of changing climate requires reliable predictions of species distributions. Distribution models need to include variables that strongly influence species persistence. Species will be affected by climate change directly by altering the amount and location of suitable climatic space, and indirectly by climate driven modification of habitat. While climate is a good predictor of species distributions, biotic and abiotic landscape factors also influence distribution. Very few studies of climate change effects on biodiversity have included key landscape factors in distribution modelling, despite recognition that landscape alteration through processes such as fire and land clearing changes fauna patterning. For birds in Australian tropical savannas, change in fire regimes is a critical conservation issue, linked to species decline. While species may show gradual shifts in distribution due to changes in temperature and rainfall, species are likely to show a more immediate response to changes in fire as a result of climatic changes. This study examines species' responses to changes in fire by projecting species distribution modelling algorithms built using Maxent onto scenarios with increased fire frequency. We accounted for important static landscape elements by including remnant vegetation and soil spatial layers. This study identified that increased fire frequency alters the predictions for birds by changing the amount of suitable habitat. Climate change combined with increased fire frequency will reduce available habitat; more than simply using climate predictions alone. Our results demonstrate the importance of including landscape factors into distribution modelling when generating species predictions. Understanding the impacts of landscape factors on bird distributions, in particular fire, is a critical step in conservation planning and adaptation of land management for combating biodiversity loss due to climate change