Proposed Charlotte to Atlanta High-Speed Passenger Rail Line: An Economic, Infrastructural, and Developmental Analysis in the Upstate of South Carolina

This research paper is an in-depth analysis of the high-speed passenger rail line proposed between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA and its impact on the economy, infrastructure, and future development of the Upstate of South Carolina. Currently, passenger rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta is offered on Amtrak at late hours throughout the night on its long-distance passenger rail line The Crescent from New York City, NY to New Orleans, LA. The train is often delayed and is operating at a deficit for Amtrak, like most of their long-distance routes. Traffic on Interstate 85 through the Upstate is another issue that plagues travelers from Charlotte to Atlanta, and although the infrastructure is being upgraded, it will not suffice the demand that exists. There is great need for an alternative mode of transportation, which is the proposed high-speed rail line. The United States Department of Transportation has approved funding to conduct a feasibility study for the rail line, and public support is being garnered. There is strong support from the state of North Carolina into passenger rail, with funding and growth being shown in the state-supported Piedmont passenger train between Charlotte, NC and Raleigh, NC. Historically, there has been little support for passenger rail, or rail in general, from South Carolina and Georgia. There are three proposed alignments for the line, with all three of them serving various spots in the Upstate. A thorough analysis of the economic impact of the rail line will be conducted, using the Brightline high-speed passenger rail line in central and south Florida as a case study. Looking at the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD), an analysis into the development that would follow a high-speed rail line in the Upstate will also be considered. The infrastructure required and perspectives from potential stakeholders, such as a private company that has invested in rail in the past like the Fortress Investments group with Brightline should additionally be considered. Implications from governmental policies, interstate cooperation between the three states involved, federal funding opportunities, and environmental impacts will be considered in this analysis as well. A conclusion and recommendations will finish this analysis, summarizing the findings of the research, the case study, and a recommendation for policymakers in South Carolina to invest in passenger rail infrastructure. Next steps: getting agencies, officials, and groups involved; and addressing any lingering concerns will be the final deliverable from this study

The microstructure of the crinoid endoskeleton

52 p., 30 pl.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

The Stereomic Microstructure of the Blastoid Endoskeleton

69-83http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48475/2/ID325.pd

The Ontogeny and Taxonomy of the Mississippian Blastoid Genus Schizoblastus

45-87http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48493/2/ID344.pd

A New Spiraculate Blastoid, Pyramiblastus, from the Mississippian Hampton Formation of Iowa

105-114http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48387/2/ID232.pd

The Skeletal Morphology of the Isocrinid Crinoids Annacrinus wyvillethomsoni and Diplocrinus maclearanus

169-219http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48499/2/ID350.pd

Figure 2: Stereom microstructure of the Late Ordovician pleurocystitids and a recent crinoid Metacrinus rotundus

Pleurocystitid rhombiferans are among the most unusual echinoderms whose mode of life has been long debated. These echinoderms are usually interpreted as vagile epibenthic echinoderms, moving over the sea bottom by means of a flexible stem. Although their life habits and posture are reasonably well understood, the mechanisms that control the movement of stem are highly controversial. Specifically, it is unknown whether the stem flexibility was under the control of muscles or ligamentary mutable collagenous tissues (MCTs). Here, we reconstruct palaeoanatomy of the two Ordovician pleurocystitid rhombiferans (Pleurocystites and Amecystis) based on stereom microstructure. We show that the articular facets of columnals in pleurocystitid rhombiferans are composed of fine labyrinthic stereom. Comparison with modern echinoderms suggests that this type of stereom was associated with muscles implying that their stem was a muscular locomotory organ supporting an active mode of life

Palaeoenvironmental control on distribution of crinoids in the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of England and France

Bulk sampling of a number of different marine and marginal marine lithofacies in the British Bathonian has allowed us to assess the palaeoenvironmental distribution of crinoids for the first time. Although remains are largely fragmentary, many species have been identified by comparison with articulated specimens from elsewhere, whilst the large and unbiased sample sizes allowed assessment of relative proportions of different taxa. Results indicate that distribution of crinoids well corresponds to particular facies. Ossicles of Chariocrinus and Balanocrinus dominate in deeper-water and lower-energy facies,with the former extending further into shallower-water facies than the latter. Isocrinus dominates in shallower water carbonate facies, accompanied by rarer comatulids, and was also present in the more marine parts of lagoons. Pentacrinites remains are abundant in very high-energy oolite shoal lithofacies. The presence of millericrinids within one, partly allochthonous lithofacies suggests the presence of an otherwise unknown hard substrate from which they have been transported. These results are compared to crinoid assemblages from other Mesozoic localities, and it is evident that the same morphological ad-aptations are present within crinoids from similar lithofacies throughout the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous

Host-specific pit-forming epizoans on Silurian crinoids

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75404/1/j.1502-3931.1978.tb01229.x.pd