The Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport is located in a densely urbanized area with one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S.A. The airport property includes a large tract of "protected" riparian forest that is unique to the urban surroundings. This dissertation explores variables that influence the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure found in urbanized prairie streams that were initially assessed by the University of North Texas (UNT) Benthic Ecology Lab during four, non-consecutive biomonitoring studies (2004, 2005, 2008, and 2014) funded by the DFW Airport. Additionally, land use analysis was performed using 5-meter resolution satellite imagery and eCognition to characterize the imperviousness of the study area watersheds at multiple scales. Overall, flow conditions and imperviousness at the watershed scale explained the most variability in the benthic stream community. Chironomidae taxa made up 20-50% of stream communities and outperformed all other taxa groups in discriminating between sites of similar flows and urban impairments. This finding highlights the need for genus level identifications of the chironomid family, especially as the dominant taxa in urban prairie streams. Over the course of these biomonitoring survey events, normal flow conditions and flows associated with supra-seasonal drought were experienced. Prevailing drought conditions of 2014 did not …

Vegetative health was measured both before and after Hurricane Harvey using remotely sensed vegetation indices on the coastal marshland surrounding Galveston Island's West Bay. Data were recorded on a monthly basis following the hurricane from September of 2005 until September of 2019 in order to document the vegetation response to this significant disturbance event. Both initial impact and recovery were found to be dependent on a variety of factors, including elevation zone, spatial proximity to the bay, the season during which recovery took place, as well as the amount of time since the hurricane. Slope was also tested as a potential variable using a LiDAR-derived slope raster, and while unable to significantly explain variations in vegetative health immediately following the hurricane, it was able to explain some degree of variability among spatially close data points. Among environmental factors, elevation zone appeared to be the most key in determining the degree of vegetation impact, suggesting that the different plant assemblages that make up different portions of the marsh react differently to the severe flooding that took place during Harvey.

In urban environments, ozone air pollution, poses significant risks to respiratory health. Fixed site monitoring is the primary method of measuring ozone concentrations for health advisories and pollutant reduction, but the spatial scale may not reflect the current population distribution or its future growth. Moreover, formal methods for the placement of ozone monitoring sites within populations potentially omit important spatial criteria, producing monitoring locations that could unintentionally underestimate the exposure burden. Although air pollution affects all people, the combination of underlying health, socioeconomic and demographic factors exacerbate the impact for socially vulnerable population groups. A need exists for assessing the spatial representativeness and data gaps of existing pollution sensor networks and to evaluate future placement strategies of additional sensors. This research also seeks to understand how air pollution monitor placement strategies may neglect social vulnerabilities and therefore, potentially underestimate exposure burdens in vulnerable populations.