Estimating the Creation and Removal Date of Fracking Ponds Using Trend Analysis of Landsat Imagery

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process of introducing liquid at high pressure to create fractures in shale rock formations, thus releasing natural gas. Flowback and produced water from fracking operations is typically stored in temporary open-air earthen impoundments, or frack ponds. Unfortunately, in the United States there is no public record of the location of impoundments, or the dates that impoundments are created or removed. In this study we use a dataset of drilling-related impoundments in Pennsylvania identified through the FrackFinder project led by SkyTruth, an environmental non-profit. For each impoundment location, we compiled all low cloud Landsat imagery from 2000 to 2016 and created a monthly time series for three bands: red, near-infrared (NIR), and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We identified the approximate date of creation and removal of impoundments from sudden breaks in the time series. To verify our method, we compared the results to date ranges derived from photointerpretation of all available historical imagery on Google Earth for a subset of impoundments. Based on our analysis, we found that the number of impoundments built annually increased rapidly from 2006 to 2010, and then slowed from 2010 to 2013. Since newer impoundments tend to be larger, however, the total impoundment area has continued to increase. The methods described in this study would be appropriate for finding the creation and removal date of a variety of industrial land use changes at known locations

The work of the analysis department in a commercial bank

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Moral Foundations and Mask Use: Worldview Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many unique challenges to governments across the nation and around the world. One such issue is how to handle the issue of face masks in a remarkably polarized environment. While the research seems to indicate that a high rate of masking is important to managing the spread of COVID-19, a subset of the population has shown themselves reluctant to adopt regular mask usage. With much of this divide taking place along partisan lines, this research sought to better understand the worldview impact on mask usage by using an approach informed by moral foundations theory. This research shows that there does exist a positive relationship between the individualizing foundations (which are often favoured by political liberals) and voluntary mask usage, but no meaningful relationship is apparent between masking and the binding foundations favoured by conservatives. Furthermore, while the relationship between masking and political ideology is stronger than the relationship between masking and any of the moral foundations, political conservatives’ reluctance to mask appears to somewhat diminish the more they associate with mainstream political parties. While moral foundations-based appeals may still have some utility in this area, several more generic policy tools that were not directly tailored to particular moral foundations also showed themselves promising. These positive indicators suggest that future government efforts to encourage masking, in addition to the somewhat definitive solution of mask mandates, may have a range of softer tools through which they can effectively reach their target

John Rutherfurd to Susan Kean, October 29, 1791

John Rutherford wrote to his cousin, Susan Kean, no address but likely in Philadelphia, PA. John Rutherford approved Susan\u27s husband, John Kean, to use his name if he thought it would be helpful. He also suggested John Kean use other names since John Rutherford was not well known in that area.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1790s/1103/thumbnail.jp

John Rutherford to Susan Kean, August 22, 1799

John Rutherford wrote to Susan Kean in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. The top of this document is torn. Rutherford informed Susan that he just returned to New York and was executing her order regarding the bonds. He did not understand Susan’s last letter where she requested the bonds be sent to her but enclosed them. They could be sent to Barnwell in their present state or the endorsements filled in.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1790s/1618/thumbnail.jp

John Rutherford to Susan Kean, August 17, 1796

John Rutherford wrote from Tranquility, New Jersey, to Susan Kean in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Rutherford offered Susan advice and assistance on a bond. He endorsed the bond with his name and then assigned it to Susan so she could then act in her own right and not as an executive in the business and receive the money. Rutherford then resealed the paper that contained other bonds and offered to keep them until Susan’s future determination. He also informed her that there was no need to present or offer an explanation to Robert Barnwell.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1790s/1560/thumbnail.jp

Some aspects of aromatic fluorine chemistry involving fused heterocyclic rings

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Improving Understanding of Endocrine-Active Compounds in Pulp and Paper Mill Condensates Using a Mummichog (\u3cem\u3eFundulus heteroclitus\u3c/em\u3e) Bioassay

Since the late 1990s an investigation of cause (IOC) study at Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd (IPP), a bleached kraft mill in Saint John, NB, Canada, has successfully identified an in-mill waste stream (5th effect evaporator condensates) as containing endocrine disrupting substances (EDSs). These EDSs affect levels of reproductive steroids in a native estuarine fish, the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus). To confirm the minimal concentration at which whole condensates impact reproductive endpoints, adult mummichog were exposed to 2% and 4% (v/v) whole condensates for 14 days. Plasma testosterone was significantly depressed in males in the 4% (v/v) treatment, confirming previous work done with IPP condensates. Also, significant induction of hepatic cytochrome P450 genes 1 and 3 were found in female fish exposed to both condensate concentrations. To chemically isolate suspect EDSs, a solid phase extraction protocol was developed by collaborating researchers. The protocol generates four chemically-distinct fractions, along with residual condensates. Fractionation was completed using 4% (v/v) whole condensates and the resultant fractions, and 4% (v/v) whole condensates, were exposed to adult mummichog in the reproductive endocrine bioassay. There was no significant response in fish exposed to 4% (v/v) whole condensates, making interpretation of specific fraction treatments difficult. While fish were in different reproductive periods in the two bioassays, which may account for some of the differences between the experiments, a more compelling explanation is the variability in the chemical make-up of the condensates. Chemical fingerprinting of both condensate batches by collaborating researchers found a higher androgenic potency in the fractionation condensates. Mummichog were then exposed to model androgens methyltestosterone (100 and 1000 ng/L; MT) and dihydrotestosterone (10 and 100 μg/L; DHT) to determine if androgenic responses paralleled condensate responses. Plasma testosterone was significantly depressed by 10 μg/L DHT in males. Females had significant depression of plasma estradiol when exposed to both DHT concentrations and 1000 ng/L MT. Female mummichog had lower thresholds of effects than males and were more responsive to androgen exposure. Comparison of effects seen in fish exposed to pulp mill condensates and those exposed to model androgens indicate androgens in the condensates may not be the source of reproductive endocrine effects in the condensate-exposed mummichog