The highly heterogeneous nature of most geologic media, coupled with the restricted view of the subsurface available through boreholes, makes it difficult to determine the spatial distribution of subsurface hydrologic properties. Without such a description one cannot predict how fluid flow or solute transport will occur through permeable geologic media, and these predictions are critically needed to address many important environmental problems, including toxic chemical spills, leaking underground storage tanks, and long-term radioactive waste isolation. A common concern of these problems is the possible existence of high-permeability pathways connecting the problem to the biosphere. An understanding of flow and transport behavior is also necessary to optimize energy extraction from petroleum or geothermal reservoirs, where identifying low-permeability barriers that compartmentalize reservoirs and hamper efficient resource utilization is a key problem. The present work describes the development and application of a new inverse method for determining the spatial distribution of hydrologic properties (permeability and specific storage) in heterogeneous geologic media, using pressure transients from interference well tests. The method employs fractal concepts to improve efficiency and reliability. It is applicable to any sort of heterogeneous geologic medium in which wells communicate with each other, whether it be porous, fractured, or a combination …

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for radon-222 in public drinking water supplies of 300 pCi/L. Proposed monitoring requirements include collecting quarterly grab samples for the first year, then annual samples for the remainder of the compliance cycle provided first year quarterly samples average below the MCL. The focus of this research was to study the temporal variation of groundwater radon concentrations to investigate how reliably one can predict an annual average radon concentration based on the results of grab samples. Using a {open_quotes}slow-flow{close_quotes} collection method and liquid scintillation analysis, biweekly water samples were taken from ten public water supply wells in North Carolina (6 month - 11 month sampling periods). Based on study results, temporal variations exist in groundwater radon concentrations. Statistical analysis performed on the data indicates that grab samples taken from each of the ten wells during the study period would exhibit groundwater radon concentrations within 30% of their average radon concentration.

This dissertation describes the various military outposts on the Texas frontier between 1866 and 1886. It is arranged geographically, with each chapter covering a major fort or geographical area and the smaller posts associated with it. Official military records and government reports serve as the primary sources of data. In 1866 when the United States Army returned to the defense of Texas after four years of civil war, the state's frontier lay open to depredations from several Indian tribes and from lawless elements in Mexico. The army responded to those attacks by establishing several lines of major forts to protect the various danger areas of the frontier. To extend its control and protection to remote, vulnerable, or strategically important points within its jurisdiction, each major fort established outposts. Two main categories of outposts existed in Texas, subposts and picket stations. Subposts served as permanent scouting camps or guarded strategic points or lines of communication. Picket stations protected outlying locations, such as stage stations, that were particularly vulnerable to attack. Because Indians raiding in Texas usually operated in fairly small groups, garrisons at outposts were similarly small. Company-sized detachments generally garrisoned subposts, and picket stations seldom held more than a dozen …

Precipitates of a series of alkaline earth metal (barium and strontium) carbonates, chromates, phosphates, and sulfates were formed at high supersaturation by diffusion through silica hydrogel, agarose hydrogel, and the freshly developed agarosesilica mixed gels. The reaction vessels could be a small test tube, a recently designed standard micro slide cassette and a enlarged supercassette. Homogeneous nucleation is thought to have taken place, and particle development led to the formation of an unusual category of materials, known as Induced Morphology Crystal Aggregates [IMCA], at high pH under far-from-equilibrium conditions. Standard procedures were developed in order to produce homogeneous gels. Particle development led to characteristic style of pattern formation, which I have called monster, spiral, and flake. Among these IMCA, barium carbonate, chromate, and sulfate were moderately easy to grow. Barium phosphate was very difficult to grow as IMCA due to formation of poorly crystalline spherulites. IMCA of strontium carbonate, chromate and sulfate could be developed at high basic pH in the presence of silicate. Strontium carbonate sheet morphology displays a unique property, double internal layer structure, which was identified by backscattering electron imaging (BEI). Selected electron diffraction (SAD) revealed a new crystal phase which was called "Dentonite". Precipitate particles were …

Soil contamination by gasoline underground storage tanks is a critical environmental problem. The results herein show that in situ bioremediation using indigenous soil microorganisms is the method of choice. Five sites were selected for bioremediation based on the levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene and the amount of total petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil. Bacteria capable of degrading these contaminants were selected from the contaminated sites and grown in 1,200 I mass cultures. These were added to the soil together with nutrients, water and air via PVC pipes.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon and related materials have been applied to radiation detectors, utilizing their good radiation resistance and the feasibility of making deposits over a large area at low cost. Effects of deposition parameters on various material properties of a-Si:H have been studied to produce a material satisfying the requirements for specific detection application. Thick(-{approximately}50 {mu}m), device quality a-Si:H p-i-n diodes for direct detection of minimum ionizing particles have been prepared with low internal stress by a combination of low temperature growth, He-dilution of silane, and post annealing. The structure of the new film contained voids and tiny crystalline inclusions and was different from the one observed in conventional a-Si:H. Deposition on patterned substrates was attempted as an alternative to controlling deposition parameters to minimize substrate bending and delamination of thick a-Si:H films. Growth on an inversed-pyramid pattern reduced the substrate bending by a factor of 3{approximately}4 for the same thickness film. Thin (0.1 {approximately} 0.2 {mu}m) films of a-Si:H and a-SiC:H have been applied to microstrip gas chambers to control gain instabilities due to charges on the substrate. Light sensitivity of the a-Si:H sheet resistance was minimized and the surface resistivity was successfully` controlled in the range of 10{sup …

This dissertation is an attempt to give a picture of the Nevada frontier journalist Samuel L. Clemens and the surroundings in which he worked. It is also an assessment of the extent to which Clemens (and his alter ego Twain) can be considered a serious journalist and the extent to which he violated the very principles he championed.

Colloquium written by a student in the UNT Honors College that presents a concept for a woman's magazine that touches on politics, health, fashion, and other aspects the independent woman's life.

Earl suffers from a guilty obsession with a monster catfish. Eddie Klomp searches dog tracks for the ghosts of his lost childhood. Mike Towns is a hopeless blues musician who loses everything he cares for. Blair Evans learns to love a pesky wart. Americana becomes confused with the difference between knowledge and sex. Do Not Eat Fish from These Waters And Other Stories is a collection of short stories that explores the strange and often defeated lives of these Southern characters (and one from the point-of-view of a feral hog). Each man, woman, and hog flails through a period of potential metamorphosis trying to find some sort of meaning and worth in the past, present and future. Not all of these characters succeed.

Studies of groundwater flow and contaminant transport in saturated, fractured geologic media are of great interest to researchers studying the potential long-term storage of hazardous wastes in or near such media. A popular technique for conducting such studies is to introduce tracers having different chemical and physical properties into a system and then observe the tracers at one or more downstream locations, inferring flow and transport mechanisms from the breakthrough characteristics of the different tracers. Many tracer studies have been conducted in saturated, fractured media to help develop and/or refine models capable of predicting contaminant transport over large scales in such media.

World War II was a watershed in American history, altering Americans' perceptions of their place in society. This study focused on Bowie County, Texas, during the twenty-five-year period that began with America's entry into the war. The construction of two defense plants there, Red River Army Depot and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, brought immediate changes to surrounding communities, and local residents faced many challenges as they struggled to adjust. This study used extensive primary sources, including archival materials from Red River and Lone Star, oral histories from former employees, census information, minutes from the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, and local newspapers, to document the social and economic impact of these plants on Bowie County. The body of this dissertation contains nine chapters. Chapters two and three describe how Bowie County obtained and constructed its defense plants, and chapters four through six focus on changes precipitated by the plants during the war years. Chapters seven through nine explore the social and economic impact of the defense presence on Bowie County through 1965. The impact of the defense industries on Bowie County was significant. Plant construction brought thousands of workers into the county, and local residents faced housing, transportation, and sanitation …

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare knowledge and attitudes of directors of athletics and head trainers in the Southwest (Division 1A) and the Southland (Division 1AA) Conferences concerning HIV/AIDS issues related to transmission, prevention, and protection within college athletics programs. The results of this qualitative study provided descriptive data from university administrators within the athletics setting who are responsible for providing adequate student athlete health care services from developed and implemented administrative policies that directly or indirectly affect a student athlete's physiological and psychological well-being.