Geography Program Masters Theses Collection

Geo-Graphies: Performing City Space and Economic Possibility and the Storyteller of Cairo

Maynard-Ford, Miriam C. — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:29:26 PST

Albert Cossery, known as the ‘story teller of Cairo’, weaves tales of the marginalized living in a city of the global South whose geographies have been impacted by colonial and neocolonial legacy. Cairo’s city and economic spaces have often been theorized as determined and dominated by the forces of neoliberalism, an approach that obscures the experience of residents who contest and evade these forces daily. For example, in “Les Couleurs de l’infamie”, the main character is a robin-hood archetype that revels in observing the resourcefulness of the city’s residents. ‘Alternative’ occupations and spatial uses abound: an unemployed philosopher teaches secretly out of the family crypt and a man has created his own trade in helping old women cross dangerous streets in the city. This paper approaches literature and the act of writing as being more-than-representational. It is a literary geography that considers how the city spaces and economic possibilities of Cairo are performed by Cossery’s writings, and how this performance can be considered an act of resistance.

Toward A Field Of Evolution Geography: A Contextual View Of Earth Through Deep Time

MacAllister, James D. — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:28:42 PST

Evolution geography takes a systems approach to the study of evolution. The interconnected systems include: the gravitational and thermodynamic solar system in which the Earth was formed and resides; the cosmic, solar, electrical, chemical, radioactive and thermal energy flows of Earth; the Earth’s ever-changing biogeochemistry; the dynamic geography of the Earth (deep space); the energy gradients of living matter, which have reciprocally shaped and been shaped by their physical environment for at least 3400 million years (“deep time”); and hominid cultures and civilizations and their ramifications for the Earth's surface over at least the last 60,000 years.

We humans are largely unaware of our place or time of evolutionary appearance on Earth. We have had a growing impact on Earth over the last seven centuries. Our over-reliance on reductionism affects the search for knowledge, proliferates and distorts worldviews extrapolated from within narrow disciplines, stifles debate and suppresses novel hypotheses. Data must be mapped into history and context where it can be challenged by other fields, be seen in the context of the evolution of the dynamical Earth system (Gaia). Can humanity trust any worldview to be the basis of good judgment absent the context of Gaia? The evidence is obvious and overwhelming that the answer is “no”.

Rethinking Economy for Regional Development: Ontology, Performativity, and Enabling Frameworks for Participatory Vision and Action

Miller, Ethan L. — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:01:22 PDT

The stories we tell about "the economy" in discourses of regional economic development play an active role in shaping our economic realities. The construction of more equitable, democratic and ecologically-sound economies must involve an interrogation of our assumptions about what “the economy” is, how it works, and how these conceptions shape our senses of agency and possibility. I argue in this thesis that key texts in regional economic development present a concept of economy that renders the interrelationships between social, economic and ecological processes invisible or beyond ethical contestation, restricts the field of economic possibility, and generates a problematic sense of necessity in the pursuit of endless growth and competition. Effectively enacting different forms of economic relationship requires different economic ontologies. After exploring in some detail, through engagement with the work of Butler, Laclau and Mouffe and Latour, the proposition that "the economy" is socially-produced and that economic ontologies can be "performative,” I investigate the alternative economic ontologies of Karl Polanyi, Stephen Gudeman and J.K. Gibson-Graham. Offering a conceptualization of economy as a process of actively constructing livelihoods in which human and more-than-human participation are recognized and the ethical nature of this interdependence is placed at the forefront of economic negotiation and construction, I distill a provisional toolbox of economic questions, concepts and coordinates which might become sites of new learning, imagination and construction when placed in the hands of communities who seek a different kind of development.

Growth of chromidia-forming vahlkampfiid amoebae from Laguna Figueroa, Baja California del Norte, Mexico and Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.A. under limited oxygen gas conditions

Santiago, Melishia I. — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:13:26 PDT

Paratetramitus jugosus, a vahlkampfiid amoebomastigote, was isolated into monoprotist/monobacterial (Bacillus sp.), cultures from laminated microbial mats (Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Norte, Mexico) and muds (Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts). Chromidia, roughly spherical (2-4 µm in diameter) were released from both walled spherical cysts (10-12 µm) and phagocytotic amoebic forms. Desiccation-resistant walled chromidia, at first spherical, resorb their walls and develop into small pleiomorphic phagocytotic amoeba. Small amoebae feed and mature into typical monopodial vahlkampfiid adults confirming previous work (Dobell, 1913, and especially the analysis of a larger encysting vahlkampfiid amoeba associated with Long Island oyster disease studied at Woods Hole by Mary Jane Hogue, 1914). I show here that P. jugosus reproduces and develops through its life history stages of chromidia, mature monopodial amoebae, and cysts as rapidly and abundantly under low oxygen levels as at ambient atmospheric oxygen concentrations. Anoxia was achieved in the laboratory by incubation of entirely desiccated inocula from old mat or mud samples in Brewer jars with or without gas packs to control atmospheric conditions. Three sets of experiments yielded the same results: vigorous growth on bacillus food occurred on manganese acetate media by two weeks on the surface of agar plates under ambient oxic or hypoxic to anoxic conditions. Preliminary investigations of similar amoeba from geographically distinct field sites in Europe, North America, and the Caribbean were made. From them, I suggest it is likely these coastal amoebomastigotes that propagate by small desiccation resistant, oxygen-independent, manganese tolerant chromidia are genuinely cosmopolitan in its distribution.

From New Netherland to New York: European Geopolitics and the transformation of social and political space in colonial New York City

Legrid, John Allen — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:16:44 PDT

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the ways in which the core-periphery relationships of English and Dutch colonial ventures in North America were impacted by local events in New Amsterdam-New York, a Dutch colony that was lost to the English following the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1664. Increased peripheralization of New Amsterdam-New York negated centralizing efforts of the Dutch and effectively ended the potential for Dutch geopolitical power in North America. While the Atlantic World has traditionally been understood as a framework for understanding international phenomenon and global processes, this thesis suggests that it was impacted by multiple geopolitical scales simultaneously. Placing New Amsterdam-New York’s colonial history in a framework of evolving core-periphery relationships and highlighting the central role of local social, political, and spatial processes provides a foundation for understanding the outbreak of ethnic hostilities in the late 1680s. I argue that the increasing importance of the local is demonstrated by the attention given to social, political, and spatial ordinances that sought not to control “the English” or “the Dutch”, but to control the actions and actors of individual streets, wards, and districts.

Documenting the History of Oxygen Depletion in Lake St. Croix, Minnesota, Using Chironomidae Remains in the Sedimentary Record

Stewart, Caitlin E. — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:33:33 PST

Lake St. Croix is a natural impoundment located at the southern end of the St. Croix River. Land use changes since European settlement (c. 1850) have resulted in nutrient runoff, eutrophication, and periodic oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion of Lake St. Croix. Establishing sound lake management practices requires knowledge of historical conditions obtained through paleoecological studies. Remains of non-biting midges (Insecta: Diptera Chironomidae) in lake sediments have been shown to be reliable indicators of past hypolimnetic oxygen conditions. Cores from two sub-basins in the lake were collected in 2006. Midge analysis indicated that shifts in species assemblages correspond to the times of land use change. Chironomus and Procladius, which are tolerant of low oxygen levels, increased in relative abundance as land use changes adversely impacted the St. Croix River’s watershed. Volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations were estimated using a transfer function developed for southern Ontario. Mean post-settlement chironomid reconstructed average volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen values were 0.73 mg/L lower than mean pre-settlement values for sub-basin 1, near Prescott, WI and 0.45 mg/L lower for sub-basin 3, near Lakeland, MN. These results indicate that oxygen depletion has occurred in the lake since the time of European settlement, and are supported by increases in the relative abundance of eutrophic midge bioindicators and the decrease in relative abundance of bioindicators of less productive conditions since the 1850s. This study, in conjunction with other historical and paleoecological studies of Lake St. Croix, provides historical data for setting management goals and strategies for Lake St. Croix.

Assessment of 21st Century Climate Change Projections in Tropical South America and the Tropical Andes

Urrutia, Rocio B. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:07:30 PST

The tropical Andes are one of the regions where climate change has been most evident. This is consistent with the notion that tropical high-elevation mountains will be more affected by warming. One of the main impacts of this warming is the retreat of glaciers; a process that may affect the availability of water for human consumption, irrigation and power production.

This study presents results related to the most important changes in climate that might be expected in tropical South America, but especially in the tropical Andes, at the end of the 21st century. Results are provided by the comparison of two Regional Climate Model simulations based on the Hadley Center Regional Climate Modeling System, PRECIS. A medium-high CO2 emission scenario simulation for the period 2071-2100 (A2) is compared to a base-line mean climate state simulation for the 1961-1990 period. In addition, some results using a low-medium CO2 emission scenario (B2) are also presented for comparison.

Results show a clear warming trend over South America reaching up to 8º C in northeastern South America. In this same place the largest decrease in precipitation and cloud cover are found. Along the Andes warming reaches up to 7º C in Cordillera Blanca in the A2 scenario and precipitation presents a mixed pattern of increases and decreases across the Cordillera. Warming is expected to be larger at higher elevations and significant changes in temperature variability are expected along both slopes of the Andes based on the A2 scenario. In addition both scenarios (B2 and A2) show an amplification of free tropospheric warming at higher altitudes. Finally, pressure-longitude cross-sections of zonal winds and vertical velocities at the latitudes of the Altiplano and the Cordillera Blanca show weakened mid- and upper tropospheric easterlies and strengthened westerlies in the A2 scenario. This change in the atmospheric circulation is conducive to a decrease in precipitation in those areas, and consequently may negatively impact glacier mass balance.

In summary the obtained results reveal that anthropogenic climate change, as predicted with the A2 scenario, may constitute a serious threat to the survival of many tropical glaciers along the Andes Cordillera.

Salt Lake City’s Urban Growth and Kennecott Utah Copper: A Geographical Analysis of Urban Expansion onto a Previously Proposed Superfund Site Adjacent to the World’s Largest Copper Mine

Lemmons, Kelly K. — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:54:58 PST

Kennecott copper mine is one of the largest producers of pollution in the United States: it has contaminated over 72 square miles in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1998 alone, Kennecott, which is located only 25 miles southwest of downtown Salt Lake City, released 439 million pounds of toxic material into the Salt Lake Valley. Kennecott was proposed as a Superfund site by the EPA in 1994. Today it is the largest manmade excavation in the world. When mining operations began in 1863 at what is now Kennecott, Salt Lake City was a small city of just over 8,000 (Census, 1860). In recent years, the city has expanded toward Kennecott, so that once distant hazards are now literally in Salt Lake City’s residents’ backyards. According to the basic patterns commonly identified in the academic literatures on environmental justice and urban growth, as the Salt Lake City metropolitan area grows towards Kennecott the assumptions would be (1) Kennecott’s mining activities would be severely hindered by the influence of the EPA or would be forced to close due to the proximity of residents. (2) Those living/moving nearest to the area would most likely be low income people with no other options. (3) Arousal of community opposition to Kennecott as residents continue to move closer, which in this paper is referred to as “reverse” NIMBYism. However, none of the assumptions are the case. Why is it that Kennecott continues to function at full capacity without direct influence by the EPA and those residents encroaching upon it are not of low income and are not in opposition? This study of social, urban and historical geography will address these questions by exploring the spatial, economic and political history of Kennecott, Salt Lake City and the EPA, with a focus on the recent and ongoing development of 20,000 new homes in the area called Daybreak.

The analysis will draw on analytical and theoretical approaches common to geographical analyses of urban growth and sprawl, environmental perception and environmental justice in relation to the nexus of spatial, economic and political circumstances which have led to the development of a new housing area on previously polluted land.

The Effects of Sea Level Change on the Molecular and Isotopic Composition of Sediments in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: Oceanic Anoxic Event 3, Mesa Verde, CO, USA

Salacup, Jeff — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:53:28 PST

Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) represent periods of enhanced burial of organic matter in black shale in marine, continental margin, and epicontinental settings around the globe. Compared to other OAEs, comparatively little is known about the last of these widespread events, OAE 3 (Coniacian-Santonian). The Mancos Shale at Mesa Verde National Park is an Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian) formation containing marine sediments of the second-order Niobrara cyclothem and associated third-order transgressive-regressive events (T1-T4). The Coniancian-Santonian Niobrara interval is characterized as dark-gray, moderately to well laminated, calcareous shale and mudstone. Synthesis of new high-resolution bulk chemostratigraphy and biomarker analyses with the preexisting geochemical, lithological, and biostratigraphical framework suggest a temporally protracted oxygen minimum zone was largely responsible for the preservation of large quantities of organic matter contained in these sediments. Additionally, C/N and δ15Nbulk values imply denitrification and nitrogen fixation were both important metabolic processes during periods when surface water nutrient profiles may have differed much from those of the modern ocean.

Petrology and Provenance of the Triassic Sugarloaf Arkose, Deerfield Basin, Massachusetts

Walsh, Matthew P. — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:52:26 PST

The ~2 km-thick Late Triassic Sugarloaf Arkose is the basal unit of the half-graben Deerfield basin, Massachusetts. Valley-river, piedmont-river, and alluvial-fan depositional facies within the arkose are defined by paleocurrent data and style of sedimentation. The valley rivers flowed from northeast to southwest, and the facies is present from the bottom to the top of the formation. Piedmont rivers built a megafan eastward into the basin, beginning about in the middle of the arkose. The local alluvial fan built from east to west in the upper-third of the formation.

The petrology of the medium sand and conglomerate was used to delineate the source areas for each facies. The medium sand in the valley rivers is mostly granite and granite gneiss fragments, coarsely-polycrystalline quartz grains, and twinned plagioclase. This assemblage is a mixture of granite from continental basement uplift, granite gneiss from a dissected magmatic arc, and phyllites and schist from a recycled collision orogen. The medium sand in the piedmont-river facies lacks granite fragments, and untwinned plagioclase is more abundant than twinned: the provenance is continental basement uplift and recycled collision orogen. The alluvial-fan provenance is similar to the valley rivers, combining recycled collision orogen and dissected magmatic arc. Unlike the valley rivers, granite gneiss and untwinned plagioclase in the alluvial fan are dominant over granite and twinned plagioclase. Quartz provenance in the three facies was granite, trending to granite gneiss in the piedmont-river and alluvial-fan facies.

In all facies, plagioclase feldspar is more common than K-feldspar in the medium sand. The conglomerate pebbles, however, are dominated by K-feldspar, most likely due to erosion of pegmatites in the source terrane. Gray quartzite, white and translucent varieties of quartz, and pink granitoid pebbles are also common.

The post-depositional diagenesis of the Sugarloaf Arkose affects provenance determination. Diagenetic events include: hematite grain coats, mechanical compaction, albitization of feldspars, albite and quartz overgrowths, authigenic hematite cement, carbonate cement, and illite replacement of feldspars.

Within the dry-dominated monsoonal paleoclimate, each facies formed in response to tectonism. The initial appearance of each facies is used to determine the timing of tectonic events. The valley rivers flowed from the northeast in an early NNE-SSW-trending ‘sag’ basin, associated with minor normal faulting. The initial appearance of the east-flowing piedmont rivers about half way up the section implies an early, down to the west, basin-bounding normal fault, which formed perpendicular to N70E-S70E extension. This fault propagated, and, on reaching the northeast corner of the basin, the alluvial fan built to the west off the fault scarp. The Amherst block is a relay ramp between basin-bounding faults in the Deerfield and Hartford basins. Linkage of the two basin-bounding faults through the Amherst block created an integrated basin linking the Triassic strata in the early Hartford and Deerfield basins, and may have caused the unconformity present at the top of the arkose.