Browsing Earth and Environmental Sciences by Type "Doctoral Thesis"
Now showing items 1-20 of 91
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Application of Biochar to Stabilize Mercury in Riverbank Sediments and Floodplain Soils from South River, VA under Conditions Relevant to Riverine Environments
(University of Waterloo, 2020-01-07)Disposal of mercury (Hg) containing products related to industrial activities has led to large-scale watershed contamination across the globe, posing long-term risks to human health due to its persistent properties. Hg in ... -
Assessment of saltwater origin in the Rub’ al-Khali basin and its relation to the formation of sabkha Matti
(University of Waterloo, 2021-01-15)The Rub’ al Khali sand sea is the largest uninterrupted sand desert on Earth that occupies an area of approximately 650,000 km2 of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet, the desert basin is underlying by one of the largest multi-level ... -
Behaviour of Mesoporous Silica (MCM-41) Supported Catalysts in Degradation Reactions
(University of Waterloo, 2013-01-08)A research project was carried out to investigate several aspects of Mobil’s composition of matter #41 (MCM-41) pertaining to its potential application in water treatment technologies. The goal of the work was to lead to ... -
Carbon Cycling in a Glacier Ice Meltwater Impacted Freshwater System of the Canadian High Arctic: Biogeochemical Processes of the Lake Hazen Watershed
(University of Waterloo, 2022-03-23)Accelerated glacier ice mass loss and intensified meltwater fluxes are among principal vectors of change affecting northern latitudes in a warming climate. Aquatic systems impacted by glacier ice meltwater are vulnerable ... -
Characterisation and Analysis of Catastrophic Landslides and Related Processes using Digital Topographic Data
(University of Waterloo, 2014-08-14)This thesis represents a large body of work that seeks to describe, quantify, and simulate the behaviour of large rock slope failures (> 1 Mm³), in the form of landslides and rock avalanches, and their secondary processes, ... -
A characterization of the controls of the nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of biologically-produced nitrous oxide and nitrate in soils
(University of Waterloo, 2011-08-02)Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas, an important driver of climate change, and its concentration in the atmosphere is rising at an unprecedented rate. Agriculture is the leading contributor of all the anthropogenic ... -
Colloid transport through basic oxygen furnace slag as permeable treatment media for pathogen removal
(University of Waterloo, 2008-09-26)Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag media were studied through a series of laboratory, modeling and field studies as a potential treatment material for use in on site wastewater disposal systems. Microsphere enumeration ... -
Coupling reactive transport and travel time modeling at the watershed scale
(University of Waterloo, 2018-09-25)Nonpoint source pollution poses the greatest threat to water quality in developed countries. Modeling this type of pollution is a challenge for reactive transport models because of the change in scale: moving from a local ... -
A detailed hydrologic evaluation of tile-drained macroporous soils: A field and modelling study
(University of Waterloo, 2011-03-07)The underlying objective of this research is to improve the overall understanding of how spatial and temporal variability in macroporosity and soil hydraulic properties in the shallow subsurface influence the long term ... -
Developing and refining the use of water isotope tracer in hydrology and paleohydrology
(University of Waterloo, 2008-08-27)This thesis investigates stable isotope signals (i.e. δ18O and δ2H) in various information carriers such as lake water and lacustrine sediments, aiming to develop and refine the use of isotope tracers in hydrology and ... -
Development of a New Technique to Study the Kinetics of Hydroxyl Radical Uptake on Micron-Sized Organic Aerosols
(University of Waterloo, 2010-04-28)The importance of the hydroxyl radical (OH) to tropospheric chemistry is well known. The radicals’ ability to react with most atmospheric trace gases allows it to act as the main removal mechanism for these gases. Due to ... -
Development of a Parallel Computational Framework to Solve Flow and Transport in Integrated Surface-Subsurface Hydrologic Systems
(University of Waterloo, 2012-04-11)HydroGeoSphere (HGS) is a 3D control-volume finite element hydrologic model describing fully-integrated surface-subsurface water flow and solute and thermal energy transport. Because the model solves tightly-coupled ... -
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen cycling in a river receiving wastewater: the response to changes in wastewater treatment effluent
(University of Waterloo, 2016-01-27)Nitrogen is an essential element for all life forms, but when in excess in an aquatic ecosystem, it can cause an imbalance in the trophic status. A significant amount of nitrogen is released into the environment by wastewater ... -
Dissolved Organic Matter in the Canadian Arctic & Sub-Arctic: Importance of DOM Quality & Quantity in a Warming Climate
(University of Waterloo, 2019-08-28)Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a ubiquitous component of aquatic and terrestrial systems and an important constituent that can influence aquatic health and drinking water quality. For instance, DOM can act as an important ... -
Early Paleozoic Ocean Redox Dynamics: Perspectives from Uranium Isotopes of Sedimentary Rocks
(University of Waterloo, 2022-11-23)The trajectory of global ocean oxygenation could have greatly influenced the metazoan evolutions because O2 could provide valuable energy to support biological activities. Remarkable metazoan diversifications occurred ... -
Ecosystem Services: Linking ecohydrology with economic valuation
(University of Waterloo, 2018-10-17)Economic valuation of ecosystem services has become a dominant model for environmental management at local, regional and global scales. However, policy-makers at all scales take these value estimates with a pinch of salt. ... -
The Effect of Volatiles (H2O, Cl and CO2) on the Solubility and Partitioning of Platinum and Iridium in Fluid-Melt Systems
(University of Waterloo, 2010-09-01)Volatiles are a fundamental component of the Magmatic-Hydrothermal model of platinum group element (PGE) ore deposition for PGE deposits in layered mafic intrusions such as Bushveld and Stillwater. Volatiles have the ... -
Evaluating Vadose Zone Moisture Dynamics using Ground-Penetrating Radar
(University of Waterloo, 2012-02-27)Near-surface sediments in the vadose zone play a fundamental role in the hydrologic system. The shallow vadose zone can act as a buffer to delay or attenuate surface contaminants before they reach the water table. It also ... -
Evaluation of Stable Chlorine and Bromine Isotopes in Sedimentary Formation Fluids
(University of Waterloo, 2008-05-21)Two new analytical methodologies were developed for chlorine and bromine stable isotope analyses of inorganic samples by Continuous-Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (CF-IRMS) coupled with gas chromatography (GC). ... -
Evolution of Canadian Shield Groundwaters and Gases: Influence of Deep Permafrost
(University of Waterloo, 2008-09-24)Numerous glacial advances over the past 2 million years have covered the entire Canadian and Fennoscandian Shield outcrop. During glacial advance and retreat, permafrost is expected to form in front of the glacier. The ...