Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) occurs in a variety of oxidation/reduction reactions. This thermodynamically-coupled transfer of an electron (e–) and a proton (H⁺) is important for many reactions, including catalysis and energy generation, and may occur through different mechanisms. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are useful for studying factors that influence the rates of PCET reactions in at metal-oxide surfaces. The ZnO nanoparticles used in this research have been well characterized and, as a colloidal solution, can be treated as molecule-like reactants in experiments. The ZnO nanoparticles described in these experiments are capped with dodecylamine (DDA), and then dispersed into air-free toluene, an aprotic solvent. The use of an aprotic solvent is important to ensure that the e–/H⁺ are transferred from the nanoparticle. When these nanoparticle solutions are irradiated with above-bandgap radiation, an electron is excited into the conduction band. This leaves a hole in the valence band that, from previously demonstrated research, is immediately quenched by EtOH left over from synthesis; EtOH provides both an electron and a proton, keeping the nanoparticle neutral. When the reduced and protonated ZnO nanoparticles are reacted with 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenoxyl (^tBu₃ArO·), an electron and a proton are transferred from the reduced ZnO nanoparticle to the ^tBu₃ArO·, yielding the corresponding phenol, ^tBu₃ArOH. The kinetics of this reaction are monitored using laser flash photolysis. The rates of PCET are affected by the reduction potentials and the pKa of the reactants. The reduction potentials of the nanoparticles may be tuned by changing the particle size. Initial results also show the concentration of the capping group affects the rate of PCET. We are investigating how these factors, reduction potential and capping group concentration, influence the rate of PCET from reduced and protonated ZnO nanoparticles.

 The population of surfers has grown rapidly over the past 50 years and the surfing industry has expanded with it. The surfing industry was calculated in 2005 to be worth $7 billion annually and has grown since then. With this increase in popularity the ‘perfect’ surf spots around the world have become overcrowed (Scarfe, 2009). Hence there is a desire for Artificial Surf reefs (ASR) that take into account coastal, ecological and surf enhancement. In order to build successful Artificial Surf Reefs (ASR) there are many parameters that need to be taken into consideration. Three important ones are breaking wave height, wave peel angle and underlying bathymetry. Combining these three parameters produces a simple ranking system for the Surfablilty of both the wave and the location. I collected data at 3 different locations in the southern hemisphere each with a different ranking to allow a good range in data (New Zealand; Te Arai & Shipwreck bay, Tahiti; Vairao). Data was collected on underlying bathymetry, wave height and wave peel angle. I hypothesized that there was a relationship between bathymetry and the surfability of waves specifically; a sharper change in bathymetry into shallower water depth regions would produce a higher ranked wave.  Wave height mesurements were collected using pressure sensors located at the seabed, for peel angle video recordings were analyzed. For bathymetry I surved each location using a depth sounder and single beam transducer.

---still working on results

Thrust faults are a type of fault where the hanging wall is thrust on top of the foot wall. In some situations, such faults cause another thrust fault to occur in the same area, but facing the opposite direction. These are called back-thrust faults. In the Seattle Fault Zone, an area which spans from the Kitsap Peninsula through Lake Sammamish and is about 8km wide, there are three main thrust faults and five back-thrust faults. However, the expression of these faulting features on the seafloor may be masked by on-going sedimentation processes. This study focuses on an area off the East coast of Bainbridge Island in Elliot Bay near Seattle, Washington. The use of ship-based SONAR (SOund Navigation and Ranging), which produces an acoustic signal and determines depth based upon the two-way travel time of sound, was used to create bathymetric surfaces. The survey was conducted by following navigational track lines which span the survey the area in parallel lines. During the survey, acoustic signal was received by multiple beams at various angles from the center of the ship. A high-resolution multi-beam sonar survey was conducted over this area of uncertainty in fault locations. Post-processing of these data generated a three-dimensional seafloor map, or surface. The excursion was used to amplify changes in bathymetry in hopes of discovering evidence of faulting. While the locations of the back-thrust faults were not indicated on the created surface, some abnormal surface features were located along a proposed main thrust fault. These features could solidify the location of the main thrust as well as indicate recent movement along the fault.

One of the main areas of focus in computational geology is how to quantitatively assess the nature of geomorphic features, in particular those that cannot be directly observed, such as the seafloor. An expert may know what a feature is simply by looking at it, and will be able to expound on why the feature is what it is, but there are relatively few features for which a rigid, quantitative criteria exists, one that will define, without subjectivity, why a feature is this and not that. This project aims to develop such a criteria for the submarine features known as debris slumps, where large amounts of the seafloor along a ridge detach from the surrounding area and slowly move downwards, creating a large block of loose material. Using sonar data of a debris slump off of Samoa, several techniques are used to determine precisely where the slump begins and ends. These techniques include analysis of sediment distribution, geostatiscal models of changing depths, and analysis of slope, hill aspect, and other models of geologic change. Combining all of these results produces a distinct profile of what that debris slump quantitatively looks like. This profile can then be validated by comparing it to the profile the same suite of metrics produces for an area that is not part of a debris slump. The difference between the two profiles shows that a different set of processes are shaping each area of the seafloor, and the slump was created in a different way than the surrounding seafloor. Profiles of this nature allow marine geomorphologists, geologists, and remote sensing experts to quickly determine the identity of objects on the seafloor, and be able to assess the impact they will have on the surrounding region.