Lately, we have been noticing an unusual rise in the sea level near many Floridian cities. By 2060, scientists believe that the sea level in the city of Key West will reach between 22.86 to 60.96 centimeters (Strauss et al. 2012). The consequences of sea level rise are unpleasant by gradually tearing away our beaches and natural resources, destroying our homes and businesses, etc. Definitively, a continual increase of the sea level will affect everyone either directly or indirectly. In this study, the sea level measurements of four Floridian coastal cities (including Key West) are collected in order to describe their trend toward sea level rise over the past 100 years. After the comparisons, some models describing the sea level rise in the city of Key West, Florida, are developed. Any inferences for these above cities may well be extended to similar ones.

Music that is categorized as part of the Indianist movement in American music (ca. 1890-1925) typically evokes Native American culture, ritual, story, or song through compositional gestures. It may also incorporate Native American tunes. Amy Beach (1867-1944) is considered to have composed five Indianist works, but her Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, op. 80 has not been included as one of them. This thesis rethinks categorization of the piece, seeking the "Indian" in it through examination of its gestures, instrumentation, and relationship to contemporary Indianist compositions.

A numerical model for the NCMA aquifer complex is presented. The objective of the study is to develop a numerical groundwater model for the NCMA aquifer system to enhance the understanding of subsurface groundwater flow. Infiltration, streamflow, pumping, and return flows are implemented to characterize the aquifer complex over time. The numerical model is calibrated to municipal and monitoring well data, average monthly water balances, and hydraulic contours. Transient aquifer inflows and outflows are assessed in the results of the study and are compared to balance terms from previous studies. The 2007 Todd Engineers Study subsurface inflows and outflows generate well hydrographs that have greater heads than observed data. Calibration to well hydrographs generated increased subsurface outflow values and decreased subsurface inflow values. It is possible that approximately 250 AFY is leaving aquifer storage.

The theory of Gibbs measures belongs to the borderlandbetween statistical mechanics and probability theory. In thiscontext, the physical phenomenon of phase transitioncorresponds to the mathematical concept of non-uniqueness for acertain type of probability measures. The most studied model in statistical mechanics is thecelebrated Ising model. The Potts model is a natural extensionof the Ising model, and the beach model, which appears in adifferent mathematical context, is in certain respectsanalogous to the Ising model. The two main parts of this thesisdeal with the Potts model and the beach model,respectively. For theq-state Potts model on an infinite lattice, there areq+1 basic Gibbs measures: one wired-boundary measure foreach state and one free-boundary measure. For infinite trees,we construct "new" invariant Gibbs measures that are not convexcombinations of the basic measures above. To do this, we use anextended version of the random-cluster model together withcoupling techniques. Furthermore, we investigate the rootmagnetization as a function of the inverse temperature.Critical exponents to this function for different parametercombinations are computed. The beach model, which was introduced by Burton and Steif,has many features in common with the Ising model. We generalizesome results for the Ising model to the beach model, such asthe connection between phase transition and a certain agreementpercolation event. We go on to study aq-state variant of the beach model. Using randomclustermodel methods again we obtain some results on where in theparameter space this model exhibits phase transition. Finallywe study the beach model on regular infinite trees as well.Critical values are estimated with iterative numerical methods.In different parameter regions we see indications of both firstand second order phase transition. Keywords and phrases:Potts model, beach model,percolation, randomcluster model, Gibbs measure, coupling,Markov chains on infinite trees, critical exponent.

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the response of coastal community comprehensive plans to the threats posed by sea level rise. The communities evaluated are Chincoteague, VA, Ocean City, MD, and Rehoboth Beach, DE. The results of the evaluations illustrate to what extent these communities are prepared to deal with sea level rise and provide a basis for recommendations to improve plan quality. The level of community risk and the components of the individual comprehensive plans are evaluated using new models created for this project. Risk level is measured using computer disaster simulations, topographic and demographic data. The plan evaluation criteria include standard plan quality benchmarks and hazard mitigation and adaptation elements suggested by numerous agencies and resources. The plan evaluations range in quality from “poor” to “excellent”. These evaluations will be used to create policy strategies and recommendations for addressing the threat of sea level rise.

In the context of the critical sustainability problem of marine plastic pollution, the present paper presents a quasiexperimental research that explores the effects that participating on beach clean-up has on students’ knowledge,awareness and behavioural intentions. Considering this intervention as an outside of school practical implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this research aims to determine if the addition of direct experiences with nature within ESD programs can lead to a behavioural change in favour of the environment. Analysing the factors that influence pro-environmental behaviour and the role that ESD has on transforming society towards a more sustainable one, a one-time pre-test post-test research with non-equivalent groups was performed. A questionnaire on beach litter and self-reported behaviour, implemented in two schools of the Amalfi Coast, Italy, indicate that in comparison to a group which only received a lecture, a group that participated in a beach clean-up increased their knowledge and awareness towards marine plastic pollution, in addition to their willingness to participate in another beach clean-up. This supports the theory that learning in nature can have a higher influence in shaping pro-environmental behaviour, and therefore the inclusion of this type of activities within ESD programs can help beat marine plastic pollution.

Wading bird foraging success is influenced by many different factors. From January to March 2008, I conducted a small-scale experiment with three captive Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) at the Palm Beach Zoo, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Prey density and the presence of conspecifics were manipulated to test for a response by ibis in terms of prey capture rate. Mixed model analysis, when one prey type was available, showed that capture rate increased significantly with prey density and decreased with the presence of conspecifics. When two prey types were available, prey density and the presence of conspecifics had no effect on the capture rates of either prey type. Selectivity analysis revealed that ibis always selected for crayfish in mixed treatments. I hypothesize that the number of prey types available in a treatment played an important role in determining how fish density and the presence of conspecifics affected ibis foraging success. / by Rebecca A. Stanek. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A confounding factor for sea level rise (SLR) is that it has a slow, steady creep, which provides a false sense for coastal communities. Stresses caused by SLR at today’s rate are more pronounced in southeastern Florida and as the rate of SLR accelerates, the exposure areas will increase to a point where nearly all the state’s coastal infrastructure will be challenged. The research was conducted to develop a method for measuring the impact of SLR on the City of West Palm Beach (City), assess its impact on the stormwater system, identify vulnerable areas in the City, provide an estimate of long-term costs of improvements, and provide a toolbox or strategies to employ at the appropriate time. The assessment was conducted by importing tidal, groundwater, topographic LiDAR and infrastructure improvements into geographic modeling software and performing analysis based on current data. The data revealed that over $400 million in current dollars might be needed to address stormwater issues arising from SLR before 2100. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A área de estudo do presente trabalho é parte integrante da barreira holocênica do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Apresenta seus limites entre o balneário de Itapeva (município de Torres) ao norte e, ao sul, o balneário de Dunas Altas (município de Palmares do Sul). Este trabalho teve por objetivo obter novas informações referentes às variações sazonais (inverno e verão) morfológicas e sedimentológicas (granulometria e morfoscopia) do sistema praia-duna frontal no Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Para isso, foram coletadas e analisadas por difração a lazer (granulometria) 26 amostras de sedimentos das dunas frontais (face marinha) e 26 da praia (nos limites instantâneos da zona de espraiamento), bem como as suas características morfológicas através de medição, observação e descrição em campo. Os resultados obtidos demostraram nítida relação sedimentológica entre a praia e a duna frontal quando observados na mesma estação. No ambiente praial, os sedimentos foram caracterizados como areia fina com tendência granocrescente para o norte, bem selecionados, aproximadamente simétricos e mesocúrticos no verão, com tendência a leptocúrticos no inverno. Nas dunas frontais os sedimentos foram classificados como areia fina, com tendência granocrescente para o norte no inverno e um sutil decréscimo no verão, bem selecionados a muito bem selecionados e aproximadamente simétricos, mesocúrticos com tendência leptocúrticos nas duas estações. No inverno, a praia apresentou areias com maior valor de diâmetro médio em relação ao verão, da mesma forma que as a dunas frontais. Quanto à morfoscopia (verão/inverno), os grãos foram classificados como angulosos com média esfericidade. Com relação à análise das variáveis morfológicas, a largura da praia e a pista de vento não apresentaram relação com a altura das dunas frontais. As mesmas tendem a um decréscimo de sul para norte. As maiores alturas de dunas foram encontradas ao sul, onde há maior velocidade dos ventos e em função da orientação da linha de costa que determina uma incidência com maior valor angular do vento dominante proveniente de nordeste. / The study area of this work corresponds to the beach-foredune system of the Holocene barrier of the Rio Grande do Sul state. It presents its boundaries between Itapeva (Torres municipality) to the north and Dunas Altas (Palmares do Sul municipality) to the south. The objective of this work was to obtain new information regarding seasonal (winter and summer) morphological and sedimentological variations (granulometry and morphoscopy) of the beach-foredune system in the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. For this, 26 samples of sediments of the foredunes (marine face) and 26 of the beach (at the instantaneous limits of the swash zone) were collected and analyzed by laser diffraction (granulometry), as well as their morphological characteristics through the measurement, observation and field description. The results obtained showed a clear sedimentological relationship between the beach and the foredune when considered the same season. At the beach the sediments were characterized as fine sand with a tendency to a northward increase on grain size. These sands are well selected, approximately symmetrical and mesocurtic in the summer, with tendency to leptocurtic in the winter. In the foredunes the sediments were classified as fine sand, with a tendency to a northward increase on grain size in the winter, and a subtle decrease in the summer. These sands are well selected to very well selected and approximately symmetrical, mesocurtic with a leptocurtic tendency in the two seasons. In winter the beach and the foredune presented sands with a higher value of average diameter in relation to the summer. In regard of morphoscopy (summer/winter), the grains were classified as angular with moderate sphericity. Regarding the analysis of the morphological variables, the width of the beach and the wind fetch were not related to the height of the foredunes. They tend to decrease from south to north. The highest heights of dunes were found to the south, where there is higher wind velocity, due to the orientation of the coastline that determines a higher angular value of incidence of the dominant wind coming from the northeast.

Localizadas no litoral sul de Santa Catarina, as planícies costeiras holocênicas de Campos Verdes e Ji caracterizam-se por séries truncadas de cordões litorâneos alternados a campos de dunas livres. Constituem exemplo de planícies formadas em um mesmo contexto regional, porém sob condições distintas quanto ao caráter hidrodinâmico: área semiprotegida de retrobarreira (Campos Verdes) versus tômbolo de mar aberto (Ji). A meta deste trabalho é construir modelos de evolução sedimentar para estas duas planícies com base em fotointerpretação, granulometria, minerais pesados, idades LOE, cálculo de taxas de progradação e simulação computacional. A comparação visa contribuir para a compreensão dos processos formadores ou remodeladores de planícies de cordões em geral e definir o caráter, se autocíclico ou alocíclico, de cada mecanismo no caso em estudo. O desenvolvimento destas planícies teria começado durante a desaceleração da subida de NRM, pouco antes do nível máximo holocênico, alcançado por volta de 5 ka AP. A partir de padrões de transporte e retrabalhamento sedimentar deduzidos com base em estatísticas da distribuição granulométrica (tamanho médio, seleção, assimetria), combinadas com variação dos índices de minerais pesados (iINS, iMET, iZTR, iTZ, iHT, iRZ), infere-se progradação da planície de Campos Verdes para norte, com componente de crescimento longitudinal para oeste, e da planície do Ji para leste, com componente longitudinal para norte. A distribuição dos minerais pesados deve-se em parte a mudança/aproximação, no decorrer do tempo, da fonte representada pelo delta do Tubarão, com entrada crescente de sedimentos menos maturos no sistema. A evolução da planície de Campos Verdes foi dividida em cinco estágios cronológicos: anterior a 4912±270 anos AP (1); de 4199±347 a 2763±205 anos (2); de 2763±205 a 2816±193 anos (3); de 2816 ± 193 a 1946 ± 141 anos (4); e desde 1946 ± 141 anos até o presente (5); com taxas de progradação de 1,07, 0,35, 3,45, 0,76 m/a e indeterminada, respectivamente. O estágio 4 compreende fase de estabilização de dunas eólicas, com lobo deposicional datado em 2255±123 anos, e o estágio 5 inclui fase de reativação deflacionar, com duna parabólica faminta datada de 711±64 anos. Para a planície do Ji, definiram-se cinco estágios cronológicos: anterior a 2794±151 anos (1); de 2794±151 a 2537±140 anos (2); de 2537±140 a 1031±35 (3); de 1031±35 a 831±43 anos (4); e desde 751±43 anos até o presente (5). As taxas de progradação calculadas para os últimos quatro estágios foram de 2,26, 0,28, 1,47 e 1,24 m/a, respectivamente. A fase de estabilização de dunas da geração eólica 3, datada em 1346±73 anos, aconteceu durante o estágio 3. Campos de dunas transgressivos ainda ativos iniciaram seu desenvolvimento durante o estágio 5. O crescimento das duas planícies ocorreu em anti-fase, com alternância entre duas situações: a situação 1 caracteriza-se por predominância de deriva litorânea rumo NE, relacionada a incursões mais freqüentes de frentes frias e massa de ar polar na região; a situação 2 corresponde a dominância de deriva litorânea rumo SW, sob maior ação da massa tropical Atlântica e menor freqüência de incursões de frentes frias. Um boom na progradação de ambas as planícies, registrado por volta de 2700 anos AP, pode estar relacionado à ocorrência de um dos eventos climáticos de escala milenar do Holoceno, o evento Bond 2, caracterizado na região por aumento pontuado de umidade e precipitação e, por extensão, de aporte fluvial. O desenvolvimento ou reativação de dunas do estágio 5 em Campos Verdes pode estar ligado à intensificação dos ventos durante outro evento de escala milenar, a Pequena Idade do Gelo. Fluxos da ordem de 104 m3/ano foram obtidos em simulação estocástica de um cenário geral de trocas de sedimentos entre compartimentos (eg. praia e campo de dunas) no Ji. Na simulação condicionada por variáveis climáticas, observa-se que o transporte eólico, com desenvolvimento de campos de dunas, pode ocorrer mesmo durante períodos chuvosos (precipitação média superior a 400mm), desde que os fluxos eólicos sejam dez vezes maiores que os obtidos na simulação do cenário geral. / The Holocene strandplains of Campos Verdes and Ji (south coast of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil) are characterized by truncated sets of beach ridges alternated with eolian dune fields. They represent examples of neighbor coastal plains formed under the same regional context, but under different hydrodynamic contexts: in a sheltered back-barrier embayment (Campos Verdes) and in an open sea tombolo (Ji). The aim of this work is to construct evolutionary models of sedimentation for both plains based in photointerpretation, grain-size, heavy minerals, OSL ages, calculation of progradation rates and computer simulation. The comparative analysis allows the explanation of the origin of processes responsible for the development of the plains defining whether the mechanisms are autocyclic or alocyclic. Both plains would have begun during the deceleration of the RSL rise, just before the achievement of the Holocene highstand, approximately at 5 ky BP. Patterns of transport and sedimentary reworking based on statistics of grain-size distribution (mean grain-size, standard deviation and skewness) combined with variation of heavy minerals indices (INSi, METi, ZTRi, TZi, HTi, RZi) show northwards progradation with a longitudinal growth component towards west for Campos Verde and progradation towards east with an alongshore growth component towards north for Ji. The heavy mineral distribution is mainly linked to the shift and approximation of the main fluvial source area (Tubarão delta) with an input of less mature sediments into the system. The evolution of Campos Verdes was divided into five chronologic stages: before 4912±270 yr (1); from 4199±347 to 2763±205 anos (2); from 2763±205 to 2816±193 anos (3); from 2816 ± 193 to 1946 ± 141 anos (4); and from 1946 ± 141 anos until present (5); with progradation rates of 1.07, 0.35, 3.45, 0.76 m/yr and undetermined, respectively. A phase of dune stabilization happened during stage 4, indicated by a depositional lobe dated in 2255±123yr and another phase of dune reactivation occurred during stage 5, indicated by a starved parabolic dune dated in 711±64 yr. Five chronologic stages were defined for Ji: before 2794 ± 151 yr (1); from 2794 ± 151 to 2537 ± 140 yr (2); from 2537 ± 140 to 1031±35 (3); from 1031 ± 35 to 831 ± 43 yr (4); and from 751 ± 43 yr until present (5). The progradation rates determined for the last four stages are 2.26, 0.28, 1.47 and 1.24 m/yr. A phase of stabilization of eolian generation 3 was dated in 1346±73yr, within the stage 3. Eolian trangressive dune fields, that are still active, began its development during stage 5. The progradation rates (growth) of the plains show an anti-phase pattern linked to the alternation between two situations: one where there is predominance of net longshore drift towards NE, with frequent cold front incursions and more intense action of polar air mass; and another with the predominance of net longshore drift towards SW with more active tropical Atlantic air mass and less frequent cold front incursions. There was a progradational boom ca. 2700 yr with higher progradation rates in both plains, which might be linked to the occurrence of a millennial Holocene climate change, the Bond event 2, responsible for the punctual humidity and precipitation increase. Dune development or reactivation during stage 5 in Campos Verdes might be linked to an occurrence of another millennial Holocene climate event, the Little Ice Age. Eolian fluxes with magnitude of 104 m3/yr were obtained using stochastic simulation of a general scenario of sediment exchange between stocks (eg. beach and dune field) for Ji. In simulation conditioned by climatic variables, it is possible to observe that the development of dune fields can occur during rainy periods (mean precipitation above 400m) as long as the eolian fluxes are ten times greater than that ones obtained in the general scenario.