Thesis advisor: Jeremy Shakun / The mechanisms of abrupt climate change during the last glacial period are not yet fully understood. The objective of this research is to use oxygen isotope and magnesium/calcium ratios from foraminifera in a marine sediment core <200 km southeast of New York City (Ocean Drilling Program 174 Site 1073A) to test the hypothesis that changes in freshwater run-off patterns during intermediate extensions of the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused abrupt climate change by disrupting the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. The combination of foraminiferal δ18O and Mg/Ca yields salinity as an isolated variable, which is used as a proxy for Hudson River discharge through ~42,000-28,000 years ago. This thesis reviews the literature on abrupt climate change and compares the Hudson River paleodischarge record to established records of abrupt climate events observed in Greenland ice cores. It concludes that a higher resolution of data points is required to evaluate the impact of Hudson River discharge on abrupt climate change. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

M.S.

M.S.

The Hudson River estuary (HRE) is a well monitored aquatic resource and much secondary data exist for this system. We developed two objectives based on accessible HRE aquatic data. The first objective was to determine if changes in HRE fish community over the time period (1974 to 2005) years are correlated to local and regional climate. We addressed this objective by employing a multivariate statistical approach. We confirmed that the HRE fish community structure has changed over the time period (1974 to 2005). These changes are correlated with local hydrology (freshwater flow and water temperature) and regional climate (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation or AMO and North Atlantic Oscillation or NAO). We found that abundances of striped bass larval stages are positively correlated with high freshwater flows and juvenile shad abundances are negatively correlated with the AMO or warmer sea surface temperatures (SST). This finding suggests that climate-related variability affects HRE juvenile shad abundances and current management strategies for this declining species should include the implications of climate change. The second objective was to examine whether factors such as sediment type, water characteristics and distance to nearest submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds affect the occurrence or presence/absence of juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) and juvenile striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the HRE during the fall. We addressed this objective by applying geostatistics and general linear mixed effects models. We found the probability of presence for both species were commonly driven by spatial dependence or river mile, Julian day and salinity. Our results include maps depicting probability of occurrence (or presence) for both species throughout the HRE. We found the highest predicted probabilities of juvenile American shad presence are found in the Upper HRE. Conversely, highest predicted probabilities of juvenile striped bass presence are found in the Lower HRE. Habitat partitioning between these two species is present during the fall in this system but the mechanism is unclear. Future studies could address a possible predator-prey or competitive relationship between juvenile American shad and juvenile striped bass.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, 1974. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-125).

Thesis (Ph. D.)-- State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies, 2009.

Mink (Mustela vison) are an important species because they occur at a high trophic level, they are considered a potential indicator species for environmental contaminants, and they are a popular target species among fur trappers. Despite the importance of mink, their ecology in North America is not well understood. I sampled 59 of 60 Hudson River tributaries with 2 scent stations randomly established along each tributary for 2 10-day monitoring periods to evaluate presence/absence of mink via remote camera photographs and tracks. When sampling was completed, I quantified microhabitat characteristics at 84 randomly selected scent stations. Statistical tests for microhabitat did not indicate a difference among variables selected for analysis between scent stations where mink visits were detected and those where mink visits were not detected. I also analyzed all scent stations for macrohabitat characteristics related to human disturbance, using 150 m circular buffers in ArcGIS 9.2. Although the percent cover of human disturbance was 7.0% greater at scent stations where mink were not detected, the difference was not significant and may therefore indicate that mink may have a tolerance for moderate human disturbances. I also evaluated the performances of 2 types of remote cameras (Moultrie Game Cameras: MGC I–40 and MGC 200) in detecting mink visits at scent stations as well as comparing remote camera detections of mink visits with observations of tracks. The MGC I–40 cameras detected a significantly greater number of mink visits (n = 50) compared to the MGC 200 cameras (n = 3). Detection of mink at scent stations was also significantly greater using the remote cameras compared with observations of mink tracks. Mink were also live–trapped and implanted with subcutaneous radiotransmitters. There were 13 mink captures (0.31 mink/100 trap–nights) with radiotransmitters being implanted in 12 (11 males and 1 female) mink. Overall 166 den sites were located with a mean of 15.9 den sites/mink. Microhabitat analysis of 33 used den sites and 33 unused potentially available den sites (UPADs) indicated that shoreline cover was significantly greater at used den sites. Macrohabitat analysis using 150 m circular buffers surrounding 76 used den sites and 76 unused potentially available sites (UPASs) indicated that human disturbance was 3.3% greater at the UPASs than at used den sites, but this difference was not significant. This may further suggest that mink may have a tolerance for moderate human disturbances. Den site structures most often used by mink included brushpiles or logjams (21.1%) and bank burrows (17.5%). The use of den site structures appeared to be largely based on shoreline cover and availability. The mean linear home range of male mink was 6.6 km (SE = 0.6, range 3.2 – 8.4 km), which was similar to the female's home range of 6.5 km. Ten mink home ranges encompassed portions of both the Hudson River and its tributaries accounting for a mean of 2.8 and 4.4 km, respectively. Mean daily movement distances of mink along shorelines was 659 m (SE = 42, range 0 – 3,087 m) and was significantly greater along tributaries than along the Hudson River.

GHOST TREE SOCIAL tells a coming out story of sorts. In terms of style, many of the poems are short, imagistic lyrics, though some are extended catalogues. Specific natural images—lakes, rivers, and snow—are often contrasted with cultural markers. The imagistic poems are thinking through the work of Sylvia Plath. The catalogue poems shift between diaristic, narrative, and critical modes, responding to the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop and the essays of Edouard Glissant. Voice-driven fragments disrupt the more traditional lyric poems. The fragments fall between formal lyrics like confetti from a gay club’s rafters; or the fragments hold the lyric poems in bondage. The lyric poem then re-signifies as form through resonances with the other discursive and poetic form of the fragment. Following critical writers such as Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde, the re-signification of lyric form reflects the need for new signs for self and community organized queerly as opposed to more typical binary categories—man or woman, living or dead, rich or poor, white or black—where the first term is privileged and the second term often denigrated.

The Hudson River School was the first cohesive art movement in the United States of America. Using the uncultivated American landscape as their subject matter, members sought to convey a moral or religious message in their work. They believed that the main function of art should be to serve God. Stemming from its roots in theology and literature, this transcendental philosophy posited that one could be closer to God by experiencing his work. If God had created nature, than the vastness and power of nature are direct reflections of His power. While many artists of the Hudson River School used mountainous scenes of the American West in order to allow their viewers to glimpse the divine, one artist, John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872) deviated from the typical Hudson River School subject matter and favored eastern seascapes over the valleys of the west. Kensett's unique perspective led him to use the ocean as a spiritual device in a way that contributed greatly to the diversity of the Hudson River School. His asymmetrical, reduced compositions resulted from his taste for simplicity, and produced a purer, tranquil atmosphere, which allow for greater reflection. Kensett was able to remain true to his tastes rather than producing generic works typical of the Hudson River School, all the while continuing to accomplish the same level of transience as more prominent artists.

Thesis (S.M. in Civil and Environmental Engineering)--Joint Program in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-57). / by Jonathan Dalrymple Woodruff. / S.M.in Civil and Environmental Engineering