The Ecuadorian páramo is characterized by unique soil properties that allow the ground to hold large amounts of water. These páramo grasslands support Andean cities and communities as a source of water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use. Although recent research has suggested that changes in land use can decrease the amount of water and affect the water-holding capabilities of the soil, the hydrologic effects of different land uses, including burning for livestock grazing and pine planting for carbon credits, are currently under debate. This research tested hypotheses about moisture-related properties of páramo soils under different land uses at two study areas in Ecuador. Bulk density, volumetric water content, water retention, and general physical properties were identified and compared between sites at those study areas. Soil structure differed between pine sites and other sites at both study areas, and moisture consistency differed between pine and other sites at the Mazar Wildlife Reserve. Volumetric water content values were high (mean of 86% at one Mazar site) but the pine sites contained less water by volume than the other sites. Water retention data showed that the surface horizons of all sites at both study areas require more pressure to release moisture than the subsurface horizons. Compared to other sites studied, the pine sites from both study areas have lower gravimetric water contents at saturation through -6.0 kPa. Different burning regimes do not appear to affect soil properties, in-situ moisture content, or water-retention capacity. The introduction of pine plantations in the páramo at both study areas appears to have lowered soil moisture contents and reduced bulk density in the soil profile. This research adds to a growing group of studies that show that changes in land management can affect the hydrological properties of soils.

South-central Kentucky has one of the world’s most intensively studied karstareas, with most work focusing on the Mammoth Cave System and related caves and aquifers. However, slightly higher in the stratigraphic section than Mammoth Cave, the Haney Limestone is a locally important but less well studied carbonate aquifer. This research provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the karst hydrogeology of the Haney Limestone of south-central Kentucky, focusing on the distribution and controls on cave and karst features developed within. In contrast to drainage systems within the major limestones below, joints are the most dominant control on passage development in the Haney Limestone within the study area and the orientation of these joints is consistent with that of regional joint sets. Bedding planes and the presence of insoluble rock at the base of the Haney also exert control on conduit development in the Haney Limestone. Most of the caves of the study area developed in the Haney Limestone are singleconduit caves that receive water through direct, allogenic sources. Cave entrances are frequently perennial spring resurgences and the presence of active streams suggests that the caves function within the contemporary landscape, acting as drains for localized recharge areas. The hydrology of the Haney Limestone plays an important, if localized, role in the regional hydrology of south-central Kentucky, integrated into the current system of surface and subsurface drainage of the regional karst landscape. Evidence supports the idea that caves of the Haney Limestone are, geologically, relatively recent phenomena. A majority of the cave passages in the study area are hydrologically active, the water resurging from the sampled springs is typically undersaturated with respect to limestone, and the caves in some case appear to be developed along potential stress release fractures associated with small, apparently young valleys. This suggests that caves in the Haney Limestone were not directly influenced by the incision of the Green River over vast periods, like Mammoth Cave, but that cave development is a largely contemporary process.

The groundwater in agricultural karst areas is susceptible to contamination from organic soil amendments and pesticides. During major storm events during 2011, dye traces were initiated using sulphorhodamine-B, fluorescein and eosine in a groundwater recharge area where manure was applied to the ground. Fecal coliform samples were collected from significant storm events from January-September 2011. Water samples and geochemical data were collected every four hours before, during, and between the storm events from a waterfall in Crumps cave flowing from the known recharge area to track the transport and residence time of the epikarst water and organic soil amendments during variable flow conditions. Two dataloggers at the same waterfall were set up to collect 10-minute data, which included pH, specific conductivity, temperature, and discharge. Total rainfall amount and other surface meteorological data were collected from a rain station located above the cave. Cave water samples were collected for the analysis of anions, cations, bacterial count, and the presence of dye. The dye traces show variability in the characteristics of epikarstic response and flowpaths. The changes in geochemistry indicate simultaneous storage and transport of meteoric water through epikarst pathways into the cave, with rapid transport of bacteria occurring through the conduits that bypass storage. Fecal coliform counts were elevated all through the study period indicating survivability in soils through the seasons. The results indicate that significant precipitation events affect the storage properties and rapidly impact the various pathways and timing of contaminant transport through the epikarst zone, eventually allowing these contaminants to be transported unfiltered in to the groundwater supply. This study shows that current best management practices in karst lands need to be revisited to incorporate areas that do not have surface runoff but where contaminants are transported by seepage into local aquifer.

Ostracodes, bi-valved crustaceans, are potentially excellent proxies for salinity.They are abundant, react to changes in salinity, and secrete low-magnesium calcite shells that preserve information about their host water chemistry. Changes in valve trace element concentration, stable isotope composition, and sieve pore shape values have been linked to changes in salinity. This study analyzed the response of the euryhaline ostracode, Cyprideis americana, to salinity in six lakes from two Bahamian islands across two seasons. The purpose of this work was to determine which compositional and morphological variables in C. americana are the most useful for paleosalinity reconstructions.Ostracode and water samples were collected from lakes of varying water chemistry on San Salvador Island (winter and summer seasons), and Exuma (winter season). Dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and temperature measurements were taken for each lake. The best-preserved valves from each lake were analyzed for sieve pore circularity, Mg and Ca concentrations, and δ18 O isotopic composition. Mg/Ca ratios and Kd[Mg] values were calculated for each lake. Each parameter was plotted against salinity for all of the lakes and for lakes from each season and island. Only the samples collected during the summer followed expected trends: with increases in lake water salinity, Mg/Ca ratio decreased, δ18 O composition increased, and sieve pore circularity decreased. Samples collected from the winter field sessions did not follow expected trends, potentially due to the breeding and moulting habits of C. americana. Temperature was more correlative with valve composition than a previous study of C. americana suggests, but is supportive of similar correlations of Cyprideis species in continental and other island settings. The valve Mg/Ca ratio and mean sieve pore circularity showed the best correlation with salinity and are the variables that will be most useful in paleosalinity studies from sediment cores. Future work should further investigate the relationship between mean sieve pore circularity and lake salinity as well as the breeding and moulting habits of C. americana. Such work may allow for past salinity ranges to be reconstructed from fossil C. americana samples.

ABSTRACT Karst regions of the world that receive relatively similar amounts of precipitation display a wide variety of landscapes. It has been suggested (Groves and Meiman, 2005) that climates exhibiting larger discrete storm events have more dissolving power and consequently higher rates of conduit growth than climates with more uniform precipitation distributions. To study this concept, a computer program “Cave Growth” was developed that modeled the growth of a cross-section of a cave passage under dynamic flow and chemical conditions. A series of 46 simulation datasets were created to represent different climatic conditions. These simulations had the same total annual discharge, but demonstrated a range of flow distributions quantified by use of a gamma distribution index, along with two special theoretical cases. After simulating a year of conduit growth for each of the various flow distributions in a series of model runs, and repeating these sets of simulations for three different passage cross-section geometries, it was evident that the annual temporal distribution of flow did indeed impact the amount of cave growth. However, an increase in the “storminess” of the climate did not simply equate to more dissolution and thus conduit growth. Rather, the quantity and duration of surface contact between water and the conduit walls combined with dissolution rates to affect the total growth. The amount of wetted perimeter (contact between fluid and passage floor/walls) generated by specific conduit to capacity were shown to be very effective at growing the cave. Above this level, the dissolving power of additional water was essentially wasted. This investigation suggests that the maximum amount of passage flow levels depended upon the shape of the passage. Flow conditions that filled the growth occurs under flow conditions that result in the most wetted perimeter for the longest period of time at the highest dissolution rate.

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into fluvial systems travelling through the subsurface in karst areas are often very similar to the concentrations arriving at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be given to water quality impacts from land-use practices near conduit inputs. The climate which affects a certain karst area can also have different impacts on water resources considerations. For example, in the temperate climate of Kentucky precipitation is essentially even in distribution throughout the year. In contrast, southwest China is affected by a monsoon climate with high precipitation in the spring to summer and drier conditions in other seasons. In the wet season large storm pulses can effectively transport contaminants to water sources resulting in loads that can be unhealthy for frequent human consumption in drinking water. The dry seasons can be particularly severe in karst areas as water quickly drains to the subsurface, making water access a major hardship. The research for this study focused on the seasonal influences that the climate of southwest China poses for water quality, including differences in pesticide concentrations between agricultural and residential areas hydrologically linked by karst conduits. In late 2007 the fluvial connections in a simple karst system near Chongqing were confirmed using dye tracing techniques. Once these connections were established and the flow of the subterranean stream was assessed, the transport of agricultural runoff in the system was studied. Data loggers were used to record continuous data of the water conditions, including nitrate concentrations. The pesticides in the agricultural runoff entering and exiting the subterranean stream were quantified using ELISA methods. The concentrations were found to be within safe limits for drinking water. The hypothesis that there is a close relationship between concentrations of the pesticides glyphosate, chlorothalonil, and triazines in the input and the output of the system was supported by the results. When considering the hydrology and water chemistry data of the site, along with the water samples tested for pesticides, non-parametric statistical testing showed the correlations between these factors to be significant with p<0.01. The percent difference between the input and the output concentrations of glyphosate, chlorothalonil, and triazines were 31, 43, and 57% respectively. Taking into account the rapid and direct flows in this karst system, the concentrations of the pesticides found in the output were more similar to the input than would be expected in a surface stream. This suggests that there are fewer natural remediation effects reducing contamination in subsurface karst rivers of southwest China than in surface rivers. Therefore, these systems should be handled with extra attention to possible contamination of water resources. The research was conducted in the spring and summer of 2007-2008 and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

A major economic constraint in the Bahamas, and other small carbonates islands world-wide, is the lack of fresh water resources. To combat these socio-economic problems on San Salvador Island I sought to gain a more detailed understanding of the extent, behavior, and controls on the island’s fresh-water lens. DC electrical resistivity tomography and time-series geochemical data are used to study the fresh water lens at the Line Hole well field. Electrical Resistivity profiles are used to image the extent of fresh water resources. Time-series geochemical data provide information on the behavior of the fresh water resources as a function of time. The inversion models of the electrical resistivity profiles illustrate a fresh water lens less than 3 meters thick on average. The mixing zone is diffuse in nature, and substantially thicker than the fresh water lens. The geochemical results corroborate the fresh water lens dimensions predicted by the electrical resistivity model. In addition, mixed semi-diurnal and spring/neap tidal cycles are the primary control on the water level. Statistical analysis of specific conductance and temperature illustrate a positive and negative correlation with water level, respectively. Analysis of precipitation with respect to water level and geochemistry indicate low effective recharge rates during the period of study. The current state of the water resources at the Line Hole well field is strained. Despite moderate levels of freshening since the termination of pumping in December 2006; the system continues to be in a state of disequilibrium. The problem is compounded by abnormal thickening of the mixing zone due to communication of the well field with the ocean, and a limited volume of fresh water. In conclusion, the two techniques used in conjunction provide a non-invasive method of estimating fresh water resources in this type of setting. Conversely, the high RMS and L2 values for the electrical resistivity models and limited time-series data create a high level of uncertainty in the interpretation of results.

One of the major debates regarding studying abroad concerns criticism that it lacks measurable and demonstrable learning outcomes and is usually viewed as less rigorous than other university courses (McKeown 2009). As one Western Kentucky University (WKU) faculty member noted when responding to the Faculty Attitudes Survey deployed for this project, all too often “too many study abroad experiences [are] little more than glorified fieldtrips.....” (Anonymous WKU Faculty Member, 2009, Appendix IV). While this may be the case, upon their return to the United States, students often say their study abroad experience proved life changing. The primary purpose of this study is to analyze students’ acquisition of geographic knowledge as a result of their engagement in a study abroad course regardless of their major academic discipline, with a secondary objective of creating baseline data for future research on the effects of study abroad for students at WKU. The analysis summarizes what geographic literacy (geo-literacy) is and how it relates to study abroad. The research also presents trends about education abroad on a national, state, and university level. Additionally, general attitudes about study abroad from University Experience (generally first-year) students at WKU are discussed. Also analyzed is the geographic knowledge gained by students, using the National Geography Standards of 1994, with evidence of attitudes and literacy collected using surveys, focus groups, and a cultural assessment tool called the Global Competence Aptitude Assessment – Young Adult version (GCAA-YA). Throughout the study, students showed signs of being geographically informed measured against the National Geography Standards of 1994; however, as illustrated by the GCAA-YA, both students who had studied abroad and those who had not, scored in the underdeveloped or developing range of global competence (with students who had studied abroad scoring higher in all components of the assessment). Students who participated in various research projects for this thesis had completed their education abroad course within 12 months or less before participating in any of the research. It is generally accepted that study abroad can improve students’ geo-literacy. Concrete evidence of immediate improvement in geographic literacy was not obtained from this research, suggesting that the short-term implications of a study abroad experience could not be precisely articulated by the students or captured by the researcher. Further, the research suggests that improvements are only marginal and cannot really be measured successfully until many years after students’ graduation. What was discovered is that students who studied abroad, almost without exception, exhibited that their minds were opened to the world around them and that a desire for further learning was clear. The results suggest that further research on the effects of education abroad is needed, using the baseline data collected during the 2009-2010 academic year at WKU.

Located just east of Missoula, Montana, Milltown Dam stood from 1908 to 2008 immediately downstream of the Clark Fork River’s confluence with the Blackfoot River. After the discovery of arsenic-contaminated groundwater in the nearby community of Milltown, as well as extensive deposits of contaminated sediment in the dam’s upstream reservoir, in 1981, the area was designated a Superfund site – along with much of the Upper Clark Fork Watershed. This motivated the eventual decision to remove the dam, perform environmental remediation, and reconstruct approximately five kilometers of the Clark Fork River and its floodplain. This study is part conceptual and part empirical. It describes a state-and-transition framework equipped to investigate channel evolution as well as the adjustment trajectories of other socio-biophysical landscapes. This framework is then applied to understand the post-restoration channel evolution of the Clark Fork River’s mainstem, secondary channels, and floodplain. Adopting a state-and-transition framework to conceptualize landscape evolution lets environmental managers more effectively anticipate river response under multiple disturbence scenarios and therefore use more improvisational and adaptive management techniques that do not attempt to guide the landscape toward a single and permanent end state. State-and-transition models can also be used to highlight the spatially explicit patterns of complex biophysical response. The state-and-transition models developed for the Clark Fork River demonstrate the possibility of multiple evolutionary trajectories. Neither the secondary channels nor the main channel have responded in a linear, monotonic fashion, and future responses will be contingent upon hydrogeomorphic and climatic variability and chance disturbances. The biogeomorphic adjustments observed so far suggest divergent evolutionary trajectories and that in some instances the long-term fates of the mainstem, floodplain, and secondary channels are inescapably enmeshed with one another.

Previous research in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas suggests that, on relatively thin soils overlying bedrock, individual trees locally thicken the regolith by root penetration into bedrock. However, that work was conducted mainly in areas of strongly dipping and contorted rock, where joints and bedding planes susceptible to root penetration are more common and accessible. This project extended this concept to the Cumberland Plateau, Kentucky, with flat, level-bedded sedimentary rocks. Spatial variability of soil thickness was quantified at three nested spatial scales, and statistical relationships with other potential influences of thickness were examined. In addition, soil depth beneath trees was compared to that of non-tree sites by measuring depth to bedrock of stumps and immediately adjacent sites. While soil thickness beneath stumps was greater in the Ouachita Mountains compared to the Kentucky sites, there were no statistically significant differences in the difference between stump and adjacent sites between the two regions. In both regions, however, soils beneath stumps are significantly deeper than adjacent soils. This suggests the local deepening effects of trees occur in flat-bedded as well as steeply dipping lithologies. Regression results at the Cumberland Plateau sites showed no statistically significant relationship between soil depth and geomorphic or stand-level ecological variables, consistent with a major role for individual tree effects. Nested analysis of variance between 10 ha stands, 1.0 ha plots, and 0.1 ha subplots indicates that about 67 percent of total depth variance occurs at, or below, the subplot level of organization. This highly localized variability is consistent with, and most plausibly explained by, individual tree effects. The effects of biomechanical weathering by trees are not limited to areas with strongly dipping and contorted bedrock. Variability of soil depth in the Cumberland Plateau is likely influenced by positive feedbacks from tree root growth, that these interactions occur over multiple generations of growth, and that the effects of trees are the dominant control of local soil thickness. Since lateral lithological variation was minimal, this study also provides evidence that the positive feedback from biomechanical weathering by trees leads to divergent development of soil thickness.