Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-167).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1987. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-65). Also available on the World Wide Web.

‘Microplastics’ are pieces of plastic debris < 5mm in diameter. They are introduced into the marine environment directly for example via release of small pieces of plastics used as abrasives and indirectly through the fragmentation of larger items. The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD) regards microplastics as an emerging issue of concern and calls for more data on the quantity, distribution and composition of this debris. This thesis examines the amount, composition and distribution of buoyant microplastic debris in marine waters using different sampling devices and methodologies. To investigate the spatial distribution, abundance and composition of microplastic debris between nearshore and offshore marine subsurface waters a subset of samples from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey were examined. Abundance was generally higher in nearshore coastal waters than the offshore oceanic samples, with the highest mean concentrations observed in the UK’s coastal waters of the northeast Atlantic and the southern North Sea. To validate the accuracy of the presence/absence of microplastic debris reported in the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples by analysts at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) a subset of data was formally analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. This analysis indicated a good level of accuracy (~66%) in the ability of the SAHFOS’ analysts to detect visually microplastic fragments during their normal processing of plankton samples. To compare quantity and composition of buoyant microplastic debris collected by two different approaches (CPR vs. Manta net) samples were collected from a similar body of coastal waters. The results showed significantly higher abundance of microplastic in samples collected by the manta net per unit of distance but no significant difference once the results were standardised per cubic volume of water. To assess the susceptibility of each method to ‘procedural contamination’, repetitive controlled tests were conducted to quantify the amount and composition of contaminants before, during and after the sampling programme. In both methods the highest number of contaminants was found on the net and prior to the deployment to sea. The semi synthetic Rayon fibres were the most abundant type of contaminants in both cases. To compare the abundance and composition of buoyant plastic debris in estuarine waters according to daily and lunar tidal cycles a mensurative experiment was conducted in a macrotidal Estuary. Microplastics comprised 82% of the debris and there was a significant difference in size frequency distribution between the spring and neap tides with more fragments of larger size observed during spring tides. In conclusion, this study shows further evidence of the spatial heterogeneity of microplastic debris distribution in marine waters and therefore also highlights the need for more comparable data from different marine habitats using standardised methodologies.

Fire is the most significant natural disturbance agent in the MSdm biogeoclimatic subzone and has a determinant role in the dynamics of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia Engelm.ex S.Wats.) dominated forests. Fire severity is a controversial term that usually refers to a qualitative measure of the fire effects on soil and vegetation and ultimately on ecosystem sustainability. The main objective of the thesis was to evaluate methods for quantifying and modelling the effects of fire severity on live biomass and dead organic matter and post-fire coarse woody debris (CWD) dynamics. A review of the representation of fire in models was conducted and several of the most commonly used fire models in North America have been described in terms of fire severity representation. The potential for developing the fire severity concept as a fire effects descriptor in an ecosystem management model were assessed. Severity matrices summarizing the probabilities of occurrence for fires of varying severity were constructed for two sites in the MSdm biogeoclimatic subzone of British Columbia, using weather data and past fire records. These matrices provide information to improve fire representation in the ecosystem based model FORECAST by quantifying the effects of fire severity on dead and live biomass components. Although this represents only a preliminary step, the severity matrix approach appears toprovide a viable methodology for improving the representation of fire effects in FORECAST. Patterns of post-fire coarse woody debris (CWD) accumulation were also assessed in the context of model development. Data were collected from a chronosequence of fire affected sites in the MSdm subzone of the TFL 49 Kelowna. The ability of the FORECAST model to simulate accumulation patterns in CWD and soil organic matter and nitrogen following fire was tested by comparing model outputs with field data. The evaluation of the model against chronosequence-derived data highlighted the fact that caution needs to be taken when using such data for model testing. The very slow recruitment pattern for new CWD illustrates the need to retain sources of CWD recruitment following fire by not salvage logging all killed trees and/or surviving live trees. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Debris flows, avalanches and other geophysical mass flows pose a significant hazard to settlements in or near mountainous regions. Understanding the physical processes that govern these flows is an essential part of hazard assessment and mitigation strategies. This thesis addresses two aspects of geophysical mass flows: flow self-channelisation due to the formation of lateral levees, and granular shocks, which occur when a rapidly-moving debris flow or avalanche collides with an obstacle. We present the results of large-scale debris flow experiments in which the flow is channelised by coarse-particle levees that form at the flow margins. The flow surface velocities are measured with high speed overhead photography, and the deposits both sampled to obtain the grain size distribution and excavated to recover the deposited locations of tracer pebbles that were introduced in to the flow. We propose a model, supported by evidence from the large-scale experiments, that describes in detail the size segregation and kinematic transport processes responsible for the deposition of lateral levees. The second problem addressed in the thesis concerns granular shocks, or jumps, which are rapid changes in the depth and velocity of granular avalanches. We investigate these through experiments in which a falling jet of granular material impacts on an inclined plane, generating a steady granular jump, which is either teardrop-shaped or 'blunted'. Numerical solutions of a depth-averaged flow model agree quantitatively with many of the observed flow features. We use this model show that the transition between the teardrop-shaped and blunted jump regimes corresponds to a transition between two shock reflection structures, known as a regular and a Mach shock reflection. On planes inclined at a shallow angle, we demonstrate a wide variety of unsteady and channelised flows, which occur due to the complex interaction between flowing and stationary regions of granular material.

This dissertation comprises two parts: Part I, which discusses the growing trend in project books in contemporary poetry, and Part II, a collection of poems titled, Road Debris. There is an increasing trend in the number of project books, which are collections of poetry unified in both thematic and formal ways. the individual poems in a project book share overt connections which allow the book to work on many different levels, blending elements of fiction and non-fiction or sharing a specific theme or speaker. While these books have the advantage of being easily memorable, which might gain poets an edge in book contests, there are also many risks involved. the main issue surrounding project books is if the individual poems can justify the book, or do they seem too repetitive or forced. As more poets, especially newer ones, try to use the project book as a shortcut to publication, it can result in poorly written poems forced to fit into a particular concept. By examining three successful cotemporary project books—The Quick of It, by Eamon Grennan; Incident Light, by H. L. Hix; and Romey’s Order by Astory Riley—this essay discusses how these books work in order to understand the potential of the project book. All of these books work in distinctly different ways, yet they all fall into the category of project book. While project books will inevitably result in poor imitations, it allows books of poetry to expand and explore in different directions.

Since the launch of the first rocket by the scientists during the World War II , mankind continues their exploration of space. Those space explorations bring the benefits to human, such as high technology products like GPS, cell phone, etc. and in-depth insight of outside of the earth. However, they produce millions of debris with a total estimated mass of more than 3,000,000 kg in the space around the earth, which has and will continue to threat the safety of manned or unmanned space exploration. According to the research, at least tens of spacecraft were considered been damaged or destroyed by the debris left in the space. Thus, the increasingly cluttered environment in space is placing a premium on techniques capable of tracking and estimating the trajectory of space debris. Among debris, the pieces smaller than 1cm are unable to damage spacecraft because of the crafts’ shields, while the pieces larger than 10cm can be tracked by ground-based radars or a radar network. However, unlike the debris within these size ranges, the debris larger than 1 cm and smaller than 10 cm are able to hurt the shield of space craft and are hard to be detected by the exiting technical equipments because of their small size and cross-section area. Accordingly it is always a challenge for spacecraft or satellite mission designers to consider explicitly the ones ranged from 1 cm to 10 cm a priori. To tackle this challenge, a vision based debris’ trajectory tracking method is presented in the thesis. Unlike radar tracking, vision based tracking doesn’t require knowledge of a debris’ cross-section, regardless of its size. In this work, two cameras onboard of satellites in a formation are used to track the debris in iv close proximity. Also to differentiate the target debris from other clutters (i.e. the debris that are not tracked intentionally), a data association technique is investigated. A two-stage nonlinear robust controller is developed to adjust the attitude of the satellites such that the target debris is always inside of the field of view of the cameras. Capabilities of the proposed integrated estimation and control methods are validated in the simulations.

This study reviews the current knowledge and state of the practice for handling floating debris for dam safety. This report is a guidance to improve the understanding of risks of floating debris for dam safety and of countermeasures for risk reduction. The strengths and limitations of current approaches related to dam vulnerability assessment and handling strategies are discussed and recommendations are provided. Several countries experienced issues with floating debris which often led to severe damages to  dam spillways. High and extreme flood events could be responsible for similar incidents in Sweden which requires to systematically assess dam vulnerability to floating debris and examine suitable countermeasures. A vulnerability assessment involves investigating the potential for debris production, for debris transport to the dam facility and for blockage and drawdown at spillways. Various concepts for reducing the vulnerability of dam spillways to floating debris were presented in the technical literature. Countermeasures for floating debris management based on a river perspective approach involve controlling the debris yield produced in a catchment, the interception of floating debris in tributaries and reservoirs and measures taken at dam spillways to facilitate floating debris passage. Floating debris management often requires opting for a combination of suitable and cost-efficient measures rather than a single line of defense.

Yes / Based on the particle-in-cell computing method, a debris mass model has been established to simulate debris flow fan formation over large downstream areas. Under the assumption that the debris medium is an assembly of many small, identical debris particle masses, the overall flowbehavior is obtained by averaging the flow parameters of neighboring debris masses at fixed grid points. The equation of motion for each debris mass is based on the depthaveraged Navier-Stokes equation in two horizontal dimensions. The friction slope of debris flow is modeled by combining the effects of both the liquid phase (slurry composed ofwater and fine particles) modeled as a Bingham fluid and solid phase (coarse particles) in the debris mixture. The rheological parameters are evaluated according to the density and particle size distribution of the debris material. Convergence of the method is demonstrated by repeatedly doubling the number of debris masses employed in the computation until insignificant change is observed. The debris mass model is demonstrated through a prototype application to a documented 1991 debris flowdeposited in the lower reach of the Shawan Ravine inYunnan Province, China. The final alluvial fan was formed by eight consecutive debris flow events, each lasting about 2000 seconds with a discharge rate of 250 m3/s. The simulation results are in good agreement with field observations. The general features of debris fan development and configuration are well predicted.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Retido.pdf: 19733 bytes, checksum: 6aad255badc436a06364517de2344ab6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-02 / This work intends to present a diagnosis of the current situation of waste management for construction (RCC) on construction sites of construction companies operating in the city of São Carlos, SP, Brazil. For this methodology were applied as questionnaires and interviews with construction companies to the city, with views fetch results related to the stage of implementation of the management of RCC proposal by Brazilian resolution nº. 307 of the National Environment Council. Also data were collected for analysis in the municipal government sector generator. In this paper we present the results of analysis of perception of construction companies studied in relation to the management of RCC in their worksites and scaling parameter generation of RCC by licensed areas for new buildings along the City of Sao Carlos. For this parameter was concluded that San Carlos passed between the years 2009 and 2012, 2,347,694.93 m² of new construction, which reflects tremendous growth of construction in the city over the past four years. However, this table expansion was not accompanied by efficient management of waste produced in the beds, which can be seen by the increase in annual generation from 63,877.76 tonnes in 2009 to 82,413.38 tonnes in 2012. / Este trabalho apresenta o diagnóstico da atual situação da gestão dos resíduos da construção civil (RCC) em canteiros de obras de empresas construtoras atuantes no município de São Carlos SP, Brasil. Para isso, como metodologia foram aplicados questionários e entrevistas junto às empresas construtoras da cidade, com vistas buscar resultados relacionados ao estágio de implantação da gestão de RCC proposta pela resolução brasileira no307 do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente. Também foram levantados dados na Prefeitura Municipal para análise do setor gerador. No presente trabalho são apresentados os resultados das análises de percepção das empresas construtoras estudadas em relação à gestão dos RCC em seus canteiros de obras e do dimensionamento da geração de RCC pelo parâmetro áreas licenciadas para construções novas junto a Prefeitura Municipal de São Carlos. Por este parâmetro foi possível concluir que São Carlos aprovou entre os anos de 2009 e 2012, 2.347.694,93 m2 de novas construções, o que reflete vertiginoso crescimento da construção civil na cidade nos últimos quatro anos. Porém, este quadro de expansão não foi acompanhado de gestão eficiente dos resíduos produzidos nos canteiros, o que pode ser observado pelo aumento da geração anual de 63.877,76 t em 2009 para 82.413,38 t em 2012.