published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

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Iron (Fe) exerts strong control over environmental biogeochemistry. As the fourth most abundant element, Fe is present in nearly all earth environments, where it plays important roles in governing the transformation and movement of organic and inorganic constituents, and in microbial respiration. Consequently, the body of work on Fe biogeochemistry is vast. This study is specifically concerned with the dynamic changes in the oxidation state of Fe (i.e., redox cycling) and their impact on the inorganic, organic and microbial components in soil. I constructed a special apparatus to fluctuate redox potential on soil slurries while concurrently sampling a wide range of biogeochemical variables (pH, redox potential, major and trace elements, CO2 release, DNA community composition charges, etc.). Previous research has documented redox fluctuations along a climate gradient in Hawaii and a primary goal of this dissertation was to reconstruct these redox fluctuations, subjected to experimental constraints afforded by a laboratory setting, with minimal disruption to the biogeochemical processes controlling Fe redox cycling. By recasting the spatial and temporal characteristics of in situ Fe redox cycling in the laboratory, I was able to form testable hypotheses regarding the importance of Fe redox oscillations to soil mineral transformations, colloid composition/dynamics and microbial community structure. A second goal of this dissertation was to explore the utility of Fe isotopic composition for providing information on soil weathering processes along age and climate gradients at the field scale in Hawaii. This portion of the study tested emerging theories of Fe isotope fractionation during mineral dissolution using well-characterized sequences in soil weathering intensity.The principal findings of the laboratory redox fluctuation experiments are that Fe redox oscillations: (1) trigger an increase in the crystallinity of Fe-oxides; (2) mobilize colloids containing refractory elements (e.g., Zr, Nb, U, etc.); (3) reveal redox sensitive rare earth element (REE) anomalies in the aqueous phase; and (4) induce changes in the microbial community favoring microbes capable of growth under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The principal finding of the Fe isotope measurements is that isotopic composition is directly related to weathering intensity in the field, consistent with theoretical predictions.

The purpose of this study was to compare the concentration of and the time to peak blood lactate following three 90-s cycle ergometer tests--intermittent all-out (Int-A), continuous all-out (Cont-A), and continuous constant (Cont-C), and to compare group peak lactate to blood lactate at individual peak time. Eight fingertip blood samples were drawn between 1 and 12min post-exercise. Subjects were university hockey players (n = 19) and physical education students (n = 19). The two all-out tests had a higher peak concentration than the Cont-C test (P $<$ 0.05). The Int-A test had an earlier peak than the two continuous tests (P $<$ 0.05) but this difference vanished if peak time was measured from the onset of the tests. A number of sampling times had lactate concentrations similar to the individual peak concentration (P $<$ 0.05): (1) 1, 2, 3, and 4min for Int-A; (2) 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6min for Cont-A; (3) 2 and 4min for Cont-C.

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Exercise-induced hypoxemia is a common observation in endurance-trained athletes. The present study examined the kinetics of oxyhemoglobin saturation during upright (UP) maximal cycling exercise in 84 healthy, untrained subjects between 8 and 26 years old. The prevalence of oxyhemoglobin desaturation (DS: SaO$ sb2 $ 0.05). A subgroup of children (n = 6) repeated the maximal exercise protocol in the supine (SU) position. In NDS values of SaO$ sb2$ were not affected by posture (UP: 95.3 $ pm$ 2.3 vs SU: 94.1 $ pm$ 0.9) for similar VO$ sb{ rm 2max}$ (UP: 3.7 $ pm$ 0.36 vs SU: 3.43 $ pm$ 0.36) (p $>$ 0.05). These observations suggest that exercise-induced DS is independent of age or training status. Differences due to posture may be related to variations in ventilatory and/or pulmonary perfusion parameters.

The purpose was to examine the effect of body mass and body composition on the mean power output in the 30 second Wingate cycling test at five resistance settings. Forty females (X = 22 years), were divided into four groups based on body mass and the sum of five skinfolds. The Wingate test was performed at the resistance settings of 0.075, 0.080, 0.085, 0.090, and 0.095 kp/kg body weight. A 3-way ANOVA (mass, skinfolds, resistance settings) indicated that: (1) mean power (W/kg) was similar for low and high mass groups; (2) the low sum of skinfolds group had a significantly higher (p $<$ 0.02) mean power output than the high sum of skinfolds group; and (3) at resistance settings of 0.080, 0.085, 0.090, and 0.095 (kp/kg) the low sum of skinfolds group had a higher (p $<$ 0.05) mean power score than the high sum of skinfolds group at equivalent resistance settings.

The purpose of this study was to examine power output and fatigue from power-time curves of cycle ergometer and isokinetic dynamometer tests. Fifteen physically active female university athletes performed a 45 s cycle ergometer test at resistances of 0.075, 0.085, and 0.095 kp/kg bw, as well as a 45 s and a 3 repetition isokinetic flexion and extension test at velocities of 60, 180, and 300$ sp circ$/s. Results revealed that peak power, mean power (W and W/kg), and fatigue (W/kg) were highest at the 0.095 kp/kg bw resistance and lowest at the 0.075 kp/kg bw resistance. Significant differences among the three cycle ergometer conditions existed for peak power, mean power, and fatigue. Peak power and mean power (W and W/kg) were highest at 300$ sp circ$/s and lowest at 60$ sp circ$/s. Results revealed significant differences among the isokinetic dynamometer conditions for peak and mean power. Mean power output (W) was significantly correlated (range of r = 0.56 to r = 0.74) for the cycle ergometer and the isokinetic dynamometer test conditions.

The study of biogeochemical cycles and their role in ecosystem function has helped to highlight the impacts of human activities on natural processes. However, our understanding of the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on forested ecosystems remains limited due to the variable controls on N cycling. Soils, microclimate, and vegetation can influence rates and processes of N cycling, singly or in concert at multiple scales. Understanding how these factors influence N cycling across the landscape will help to elucidate the impacts of N deposition. The objectives of this study were to characterize variation in soils, microclimate and vegetation characteristics, and N cycling and decomposition dynamics across the landscape in a region impacted by N deposition. Relationships among these factors were explored to determine the main factors influencing N cycling and decomposition. Strong differences in net N mineralization and nitrification were found between forest stands with contrasting species composition and moisture availability. Nitrate production and leaching were related to sugar maple abundance, and base cation leaching was correlated with nitrate concentrations in soil solutions. Decomposition experiments were installed to examine the effects of substrate quality, microclimate and N availability on decay rates. Nitrogen amendments for the most part did not affect decomposition rates of wood and cellulose, and mass loss rates were correlated with microclimate and forest floor characteristics. In contrast, microclimate did not seem to affect leaf litter decay rates, and the results suggest that the presence of invertebrates may influence mass loss to a greater degree than moisture or litter quality. This work highlights the large degree of variability in N processing across the landscape and suggests that differences in microclimate and species composition may help to predict the impacts of chronic N deposition on N cycling and retention.