Phytoplankton serve as the bottom of the marine food web and therefore play an essential role in marine ecosystems. On the other hand, coastal phytoplankton communities can adversely affect the marine ecosystem and humans. A variety of techniques have been developed to measure and study phytoplankton, including in situ methods (e.g., flow cytometry) and laboratory methods (e.g., microscopic taxonomy). These provide accurate measurements of phytoplankton taxa and concentrations, yet they are limited in space and time, and synoptic information is difficult to obtain with these techniques. Optical remote sensing may provide complementary information for its synoptic nature, as demonstrated by satellite estimates of major phytoplankton taxa in major ocean basins. It has remained a challenge, however, for coastal and estuarine waters due to their optical complexity. One pioneering work relied on hyperspectral absorption spectra of phytoplankton pigments (Millie et al., 1995), from which Gymnodinium breve (i.e., Karenia brevis) blooms on the West Florida shelf could be detected and quantified in situ. However, whether a similar approach can be developed for estuarine waters where toxic blooms are often found is still unknown. Thus, the objective of this study is to test and develop an approach to classify major phytoplankton taxa found in two estuaries in Florida, U.S.A., based on optical analysis of the phytoplankton absorption spectra. In this study, over 250 surface water samples were collected on numerous cruise surveys from two Florida estuaries (Tampa Bay, ∼1000 km2 on the west coast; and the Indian River Lagoon, ∼900 km2 on the east coast). The samples were filtered and then processed using standard NASA protocols to determine 1) their spectral absorption coefficients due to phytoplankton pigments, aph (λ) (m-1), and 2) their chlorophyll a concentrations (mg m-3). aph (λ) was further normalized by Chl a, resulting in chlorophyll-specific absorption coefficient, a aph∗ (λ) (m2 mg-1). For each sample, phytoplankton cell counts were enumerated by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) through microscopic taxonomy. The a aph∗ (λ) data were then categorized based on the dominant phytoplankton taxa, and were separated as either bloom or non-bloom using a 100,000 cell∕L threshold of the dominant taxa. Three techniques were tested for classifying phytoplankton taxa using absorption spectra; a first derivative summation, a relative height analysis, and an integration analysis. The integration technique proved to be the most successful of the three. This technique performed an integration of a aph∗ (572-600nm) against a linear baseline, and yielded an 81% success rate (13 of 16 samples) and 9% false positive rate (13 of 144 samples) in separating blooms of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense from other bloom and non-bloom taxa found in the Tampa Bay estuary. The same integration technique, but with the wavelength range shifted to 471 nm - 490 nm, was also applied to the samples collected in the Indian River Lagoon estuary from summer 2011 to study the green flagellate of the class Pedinophyceae.. The results showed an 80% success rate (8 of 10 samples) and a 0.5% false positive rate (1 of 156 samples) in separating the Pedinophyceae bloom taxa from other bloom and non-bloom taxa found in both the Indian River Lagoon and Tampa Bay. The number of bloom samples was relatively low (16 from Tampa Bay and 10 from IRL). Thus, the results from this study are preliminary and will require more sampling in order to further develop this technique to a practical method for field use. However, the results obtained from this study are comparable to those from other techniques for classification of phytoplankton taxa, for example, BreveBuster, SIPPER, FlowCAM, and satellite ocean color remote sensing of the open ocean. Yet this technique extends to optically complex estuarine waters, and therefore may represent a step towards the ultimate goal of applying satellite remote sensing in characterizing phytoplankton taxa in estuaries. Once confirmed with more samples from the same two estuaries as well as from other estuaries, an immediate next step may be the implementation of in situoptical instruments on either buoys (e.g., MARVIN in Tampa Bay) or flow-through systems to provide continuous characterization of major phytoplankton taxa in the two estuaries.

The problem of homelessness is an issue in every city of America. Increasingly there are more individuals and families that find themselves without a permanent residence due to varying factors. Traditionally, the approach to this crisis has been to shuffle from emergency shelters to transitional shelters towards temporary housing. However, this lengthy, regulated process prohibits a large portion of the homeless population from ever settling back into housing. It is also merely a stop gap for the issue and this process absorbs a large sum of resources in land, money and manpower. However, there is a new model emerging to solve this issue. The idea is to address housing first and follow up with services/counseling afterward. "RE-Homing" is an exploration of how architecture can be used as a tool to facilitate such a housing first initiative that will not only make a place, but create a place of identity, a home they can sustain, for these individuals. This idea of reintroducing the essence of home can make a housing first initiative viable and can prolong the assistance available for this population. Conventionally, once at capacity, a housing first site becomes a supportive apartment building. However, through combining the scattered site theory of housing first with the main facility idea, a single program can assist more individuals and continue the purpose once at capacity on site.

This study will investigate family life and explore the realities and the resilience of traditional, Black middle class families in Carver City-Lincoln Gardens through changing times. This research will contribute to the literature on local history in Tampa, with a particular focus on Black family. The goal of this study is to demonstrate how Black families support and sustain themselves through the collective efforts of the community and extend kinships.

Water quality data and land use information were analyzed within the Alafia River watershed in Florida to determine spatial and temporal trends in these variables over a 16 year time period from 1991-2006. Monthly water quality data (for dissolved oxygen, turbidity, fecal coliform, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen) were statistically analyzed using the modified seasonal Kendall nonparametric test for trends that accounts for serial correlation. The statistical trend analysis was conducted for the entire study period, but monthly, seasonal, and land use trends were also examined. Land use information was examined using Geographic Information Systems to determine the percent change in land use proportion from 1990 to 1999, 1999 to 2006, and 1990 to 2006. The proportions of each land use and their percent change were then related to the trends in water quality. The results of this analysis showed that water quality for the parameters turbidity and total phosphorus have been shown to be improving with statistically significant decreasing trends for turbidity at stations 74, 111, 116, and 139 and for total phosphorus at stations 74, 114, and 115. A statistically significant decreasing trend in dissolved oxygen was determined for stations 116 and an increasing trend in total nitrogen for stations 114, 115, and 151 implying water quality for these parameters is degrading. Other noted trends were high fecal coliform and total nitrogen at station 111, which has higher proportions of agricultural land use and an increasing proportion of urban and built-up land use. Also, low dissolved oxygen was noted at station 74. The proportions of land use for the entire study area have changed from predominantly wetlands to now urban and built-up land use. While agricultural, rangeland, and wetlands land use have shown a reduction in the proportion of coverage in the contributing zone of almost every station, urban and built-up land use has increased in proportion at every station.

Re-tool: v.tr. re-tooled, re-tooling, re-tools 1. To fit out (a factory, for example) with a new set of machinery and tools for making a different product. 2. To revise and reorganize, especially for the purpose of updating or improving. The American ideals inherent in the suburbs are the promise of space, affordability, convenience, and traditional family life; conversely the public realms of the suburban typology become disconnected from each other as well as the larger city. The Generic City condition in which the periphery is no longer captivated by the center from which it was created is pervasive in the American landscape. Public space within the city has been consumed by their auto-centric infrastructural requirements, creating a loss of activity and identity. "Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they may appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a cities wealth of public life may grow." Connecting people and places to one another and the metropolis that feeds them is essential for a properly functioning society. One example of an American city afflicted by auto-centrism and pedestrian marginalization is Tampa. The solution to Tampa's disconnection is a transit oriented development model in which there are localized areas of higher density that become nodes along a public transit route, thereby connecting areas of low density. By creating transportation nodes, places will become better connected in time and space. Establishing a more social form of transit in the Tampa Bay region will provide the opportunity for the creation of a secular cathedral of transportation. The Infrastructures we erect, just as the monasteries in the Middle Ages, must seek to enliven the communal and artistic traditions that make civilization and culture meaningful. The network of light rail connecting disjointed areas in Hillsborough will be linked to a high speed rail connecting major metropolitan areas across the state. This central downtown node will be manifested as a multi-modal station which incorporates multiple functions into an existing single use environment to densify the urban core of Tampa, create denser housing, and reconnect people to places. The main area of focus is the rail station and its overlap of program to create density and intensity so that connections with places and culture will be reinforced. The station will become a major public space of amenity and gathering point for the community.

Ybor City is a historical neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, and a tourist attraction known for its immigrant roots and once-thriving cigar industry. This thesis places Ybor City into the context of the burgeoning heritage tourism market, examining how cities financially reliant on tourism often sanitize their public historical narrative. I identify the main actors involved in Ybor City's marketing and preservation by investigating contemporary newspaper articles and multiple National Park Service documents, thereby uncovering the motivations and decisions that led to Ybor's cultural image of a bustling, relatively peaceful early 20th-century "Latin" community. To correlate Ybor's aestheticized public image with the official record, I review and contrast historical primary sources, academic literature, tourism advertising material, and Ybor's physical historical markers designated to its landmarks. My main argument is that embellishing local memory with overt celebratory overtones and a patriotic message not only fosters a misleading narrative, but it also sidelines traditionally marginalized racial and ethnic groups: Ybor's working-class families, as well as its Jewish, Black Cuban, and African American heritage. This thesis seeks to advance a more authentic interpretation of Ybor City history by proposing a reinvestigation into literary sources and applying both GIS and mobile technology to update the existing scholarship.

Os mecanismos de instabilidade hidrodinâmica têm um papel importante no processo da transição do escoamento de laminar para turbulento. A análise da instabilidade hidrodinâmica em uma cavidade com tampa deslizante foi realizada através da decomposição em modos globais (biglobal) para avaliar o efeito da compressibilidade neste fenômeno. O escoamento base foi obtido através de simulação numérica direta (DNS). Para tal, foi desenvolvido um código DNS compressível com discretização espacial por diferenças finitas compactas de alta resolução espectral e capacidade de processamento paralelo, com um método de decomposição de domínio que mantém a precisão das diferenças finitas compactas. O escoamento base é usado para montar o problema de autovalor oriundo das equações de Navier-Stokes linearizadas para a perturbação, discretizadas por diferenças finitas explícitas. O uso de diferenças finitas em conjunto com a implementação em matrizes esparsas reduz sensivelmente o uso de memória. Através do algoritmo de Arnoldi, a ordem do problema de autovalor é reduzida e os autovalores de interesse são recuperados. Os resultados indicam o efeito estabilizante da compressibilidade nos modos dominantes da cavidade e revelam modos inerentes ao escoamento compressível, para os quais a compressibilidade tem efeito desestabilizante. Dentre estes modos compressíveis, estão presentes modos de propagação sonora em dutos e modos relacionados à geração de som na cavidade. / Hydrodynamic instability mechanisms play an important role in laminar to turbulent transition. Hydrodynamic instability analysis of a lid-driven cavity flow was performed by global mode decomposition (biglobal) to evaluate compressibility effects on this phenomenon. The basic flow was calculated by direct numerical simulation (DNS). A compressible DNS code was developed with spectral-like compact finite difference spatial discretization. The code allows parallel processing with a domain decomposition method that preserves the compact finite difference accuracy. The basic flow is used to form the eigenvalue problem associated to the linear Navier- Stokes equations for the perturbation, which were discretized by an explicit finite difference scheme. The combination of sparse matrix techniques and finite difference discretization leads to a significant memory reduction. The order of the eigenvalue problem was reduced using the Arnoldi algorithm and the eigenvalues of interest were calculated. Results show the stabilizing effect of compressibility on the leading modes and reveal some modes intrinsic to compressible flow, for which compressibility has a destabilizing effect. Among these compressible modes, there are some related to sound propagation in ducts and to sound generation inside the cavity.

Os mecanismos de instabilidade hidrodinâmica têm um papel importante no processo da transição do escoamento de laminar para turbulento. A análise da instabilidade hidrodinâmica em uma cavidade com tampa deslizante foi realizada através da decomposição em modos globais (biglobal) para avaliar o efeito da compressibilidade neste fenômeno. O escoamento base foi obtido através de simulação numérica direta (DNS). Para tal, foi desenvolvido um código DNS compressível com discretização espacial por diferenças finitas compactas de alta resolução espectral e capacidade de processamento paralelo, com um método de decomposição de domínio que mantém a precisão das diferenças finitas compactas. O escoamento base é usado para montar o problema de autovalor oriundo das equações de Navier-Stokes linearizadas para a perturbação, discretizadas por diferenças finitas explícitas. O uso de diferenças finitas em conjunto com a implementação em matrizes esparsas reduz sensivelmente o uso de memória. Através do algoritmo de Arnoldi, a ordem do problema de autovalor é reduzida e os autovalores de interesse são recuperados. Os resultados indicam o efeito estabilizante da compressibilidade nos modos dominantes da cavidade e revelam modos inerentes ao escoamento compressível, para os quais a compressibilidade tem efeito desestabilizante. Dentre estes modos compressíveis, estão presentes modos de propagação sonora em dutos e modos relacionados à geração de som na cavidade. / Hydrodynamic instability mechanisms play an important role in laminar to turbulent transition. Hydrodynamic instability analysis of a lid-driven cavity flow was performed by global mode decomposition (biglobal) to evaluate compressibility effects on this phenomenon. The basic flow was calculated by direct numerical simulation (DNS). A compressible DNS code was developed with spectral-like compact finite difference spatial discretization. The code allows parallel processing with a domain decomposition method that preserves the compact finite difference accuracy. The basic flow is used to form the eigenvalue problem associated to the linear Navier- Stokes equations for the perturbation, which were discretized by an explicit finite difference scheme. The combination of sparse matrix techniques and finite difference discretization leads to a significant memory reduction. The order of the eigenvalue problem was reduced using the Arnoldi algorithm and the eigenvalues of interest were calculated. Results show the stabilizing effect of compressibility on the leading modes and reveal some modes intrinsic to compressible flow, for which compressibility has a destabilizing effect. Among these compressible modes, there are some related to sound propagation in ducts and to sound generation inside the cavity.

This piece is a forty-five minute video utilizing the concept of liquid medium cross-pollination of media including, sound, music, video and "found" art. The piece was shot over the course of three years at a cost of twelve thousand dollars using a Sony trv950, a Mac PowerBook, a 1954 Gibson J45, and a 1971 Guild F212, edited on Final Cut Pro and conceptualized for multiple viewings.

Blanche Armwood was a remarkable black woman activist, from Tampa, Florida, who devoted her life to improving the political, social, and economic status of blacks in the Jim Crow South. Local historians have kept Armwood's legacy alive by describing her achievements and by emphasizing her dedication to the African-American population during one of the most racist periods in American history. In their efforts to understand Armwood's career, scholars depend upon race as the primary category of analysis and focus mainly on the external forces that defined Armwood's world. They argue that she became resigned to her lot in life as a black woman, and consequently chose to accommodate rather than challenge the Southern racial system. This thesis offers an alternative interpretation of Armwood's activism. It argues that Blanche Armwood rejected the white supremacist ideology of the Jim Crow South and insisted on equal opportunity and political equality for all African-Americans. This study examines how social variables such as race, gender, and class intersected in her life, shaping her world view and leadership style. It explores how Armwood's experiences as a southern, middle-class, black woman affected her racial ideology. Armwood left behind a powerful legacy of resistance against the second-class status that white America imposed on blacks during the nadir in African-American history. She contested the white South's perception of African-American women. In a world that associated them with Mammy and Jezebel stereotypes, Armwood insisted that African-American women deserved the same respect that society accorded white women. Armwood fought for political equality, demanding that black women should have the right to vote and participate in the civic process as women and as African-Americans. In addition, she believed that the federal government had a responsibility to protect all its citizens and that every American was entitled to equal treatment before the law. Finally, Armwoodʹs racial uplift work revealed her faith in the cornerstone of the American creed, its promise of equal opportunity. She provided some blacks with the chance to move away from poverty and illiteracy to become respectable middle-class Americans.