Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Geological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Scallops are concave dissolution features that can form on soluble surfaces. These features have been used to recreate paleoflow conditions within cave systems. The goal of this study was to expand the knowledge of scallop spatial distributions and related statistics. We tested scallops' spatial distributions against random Poisson distributions. In order to test this, we measured scallops from Buckeye Creek Cave and the Boarhole Portal Cave System in Greenbrier, West Virginia and we performed statistical analyses on those measurements. We looked at the variance in scallop lengths between the two caves to determine if the distributions were statistically similar and concluded they were not. We then compared the variances of scallops on a vertical transect to those on a horizontal transect and found that this was inconclusive depending on passage geometry. Scallop distributions were compared to a random Poisson distribution and it was found that both cave's scallop distributions follow a random Poisson distribution, but are weakly inhibited. This was then corroborated by nearest neighbor analysis of scallops showing normality of the nearest neighbor distances, implying random relationships. Together, these results expand on reconstructing paleoflow with the of the spatial distribution of scallops. However, more work is needed to further understand the significance cave geometry contributes to reconstruction with scallop distribution.

Committee: Gregory Springer (Advisor); Katherine Fornash (Committee Member); Eung Seok Lee (Committee Member) Subjects: Geological; Geology; Geomorphology; Hydrology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2009, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Logistics companies rely on efficient unloading methods to reduce operating costs. This thesis describes a heuristic method to efficiently pack a given set of rectangular packages orthogonally within a given container (delivery truck). The packages are placed within the container based upon a largest caving degree rule, which maximizes the surface area that touches previously placed objects or the container sides. The resulting heuristic produces an efficient method to pack a set of objects while minimizing the total operating costs, which is the total unloading costs plus a penalty cost for packages not loaded within their assigned container. In addition, a look-ahead feature is evaluated to determine its effectiveness to the improvement of the original algorithm.

Committee: Dale T. Masel PhD (Advisor); Helmut Paschold PhD (Committee Member); Diana Schwerha PhD (Committee Member); Gary Weckman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Industrial Engineering