Earth and Environmental Science Undergraduate Research Theses

The Department of Earth and Environmental Science offers undergraduate majors in Earth and Environmental Science (EESC) and Environmental Studies (ENVS).

The Earth & Environmental Science major provides graduates with a broad understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes that operate in and on the planet and how direct and indirect methods are used to examine, quantify and understand the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. Graduates appreciate how humans and ecosystems interact with the dynamic Earth, and how human activities such as non-sustainable resource extraction have generated climate change, exacerbated natural hazards, and disrupted hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles.

The program in Environmental Studies is designed to provide students with the skills to understand and address contemporary environmental issues. The program draws from the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, policy and management to study complex issues of the environment and humans’ interaction with it.  This multidisciplinary major consists of courses from several departments across the College and other schools at Penn, providing students with the skills and breadth of understanding they need for purposeful study in a concentration.

All Environmental Studies majors, as well as Honors students in Earth and Environmental Science, are required to do a senior thesis. The purpose of the thesis is to synthesize various aspects of each student’s curriculum, and to develop deeper knowledge and experience in a specific field through independent research. In addition, the senior-thesis process helps each student gain abilities in analyzing research literature, interpreting data, understanding the scientific process, and communicating complex information in written and oral forms. In addition to their independent research, thesis students participate in a two semester-long seminar course, developing their research, presentation, writing and peer review skills. The seminar culminates with final oral presentations, a poster conference and submission of their final thesis.

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  • Publication
    Rural Resistance to Renewable Energy: A Case Study of Cumberland Valley Township, PA
    (2025-05-18) Elijah Cook
    The United States’ energy transition is dependent on Rural America to shoulder the infrastructure of renewable development, but residents feel this threatens their identity, leading to opposition to renewable energy projects. This thesis employs a case study of the community's perspectives on a 7MW solar development in Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania. Renewable energy is critical for addressing the climate crisis, yet place-based, historical, and procedural factors influence rural communities to view these developments with opposition and skepticism. This study includes original survey data and interviews with key residents, finding that opposition stems from concerns about land use, aesthetics, lack of transparency, and community engagement. Residents' place attachments and historical relationships to the land play a crucial role in shaping their perceptions. These findings illustrate the need for inclusive, transparent planning when putting renewable infrastructure in rural communities. Rural America needs to be a partner, not an obstacle, in the country’s energy transition. For renewable developments to be successful, they must observe local values, history, and priorities in the communities they are situated in.
  • Publication
    Video Presentation: Are Greenland Ice Sheet meltwaters a significant source of manganese?
    Leah Hopf
    The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is the second largest ice mass on Earth, covering approximately 20% of Arctic land surface area. As rising global temperatures increase annual melting of the GrIS, it is increasingly important to determine the ability of ice melt to transport nutrients and contaminants to nearby oceans where they can impact marine ecosystems. Manganese (Mn) is a trace element and essential micronutrient that can limit phytoplankton growth, and it therefore plays an important role for ecosystem health. Despite its biological importance, observational data on Mn concentrations and reactivity in the cryosphere is limited, and the role of the GrIS in the Mn biogeochemical cycle remains largely unknown. Here, I compare spatial Mn trends in GrIS meltwaters to assess the hypothesis that glacially derived Mn is a critical micronutrient source for coastal marine ecosystems. Suspended sediments were collected daily between early June-late July from the Watson River (southwestern Greenland) in 2023 and the Kiattuut Sermiat meltwater river (southern Greenland) in 2024. Mn was extracted from the sediments using sequential extractions, and Mn concentrations were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Concentrations of total Mn in glacial meltwater rivers are several orders of magnitude higher than in a nearby precipitation-fed stream, indicating that glacially derived sediment may be the dominant source of particulate Mn exported from GrIS catchments. To my knowledge, this study provides the first dataset of particulate Mn in GrIS meltwaters, addressing a significant gap in current understandings of Mn inputs from glacial environments.
  • Publication
    Highly Reactive Particulate Manganese in Greenland Ice Sheet Meltwaters
    (2025-04-25) Leah Hopf
    The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is the second largest ice mass on Earth, covering approximately 20% of Arctic land surface area. As rising global temperatures increase annual melting of the GrIS, it is increasingly important to determine the ability of ice melt to transport nutrients and contaminants to nearby oceans where they can impact marine ecosystems. Manganese (Mn) is a trace element and essential micronutrient that can limit phytoplankton growth, and it therefore plays an important role for ecosystem health. Despite its biological importance, observational data on Mn concentrations and reactivity in the cryosphere is limited, and the role of the GrIS in the Mn biogeochemical cycle remains largely unknown. Here, I compare spatial and temporal Mn trends in GrIS meltwaters to assess the hypothesis that glacially derived Mn is a critical micronutrient source for coastal marine ecosystems. Suspended sediments were collected daily between early June-late July from the Watson River (southwestern Greenland) in 2023 and the Kiattuut Sermiat meltwater river (southern Greenland) in 2024. Mn was extracted from the sediments using sequential extractions, and Mn concentrations were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Concentrations of total Mn in glacial meltwater rivers are several orders of magnitude higher than in a nearby precipitation-fed stream, indicating that glacially derived sediment may be the dominant source of particulate Mn exported from GrIS catchments. The dominant pool of Mn is highly reactive across the entire melt season in both sampled meltwater rivers, but the specific composition of particulate Mn varies between different glacial catchments. I conclude that GrIS meltwaters overall may be a significant source of highly reactive Mn to coastal environments, but that local geological and hydrological characteristics cause variation in Mn composition between catchments. To my knowledge, this study provides the first dataset of particulate Mn in GrIS meltwaters, addressing a significant gap in current understandings of Mn inputs from glacial environments.
  • Publication
    Coprophilous Fungi Spores as Proxy of Herbivore Presence near Vijayanagara-era Reservoir in Karnataka, India
    (2025-05) Pan, Connie
    This thesis quantifies concentrations of coprophilous fungal spores in a sediment core from Kamalapuram Reservoir in South India, near the Vijayanagara Empire’s previous capital city. Analysis of the core, which captured depositional history dating from the 14th century to the present, aims to quantify dung fungal spore concentrations around the reservoir, assessing trends in spore concentrations in order to draw conclusions about herbivory, and comparing with pollen and charcoal records to identify correlation with human activity. As the first application of dung fungi analysis on sedimentary records from South Asia, this study also validates the taxa Sporormiella and Sordaria as indicators of herbivore presence in historical sediments from this region. Results reveal three major sections of the core. The deepest layers, dated to the height of the Vijayanagara empire, contain the highest dung fungi concentrations, suggesting dense local herbivore populations. Spore concentrations then decline, aligning with large-scale depopulation following the abandonment of the capital in the 17th century. Lastly, a resurgence of coprophilous fungi in recent layers, dated to the 18th-20th centuries, correlated with renewed settlement and agriculture in the Colonial and post-Independence eras. This study offers the first application of analysis of preserved dung fungi spores in South Indian sediments, as well as adding the new element of herbivore presence to previous analyses of land use around Kamalapuram Reservoir.