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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Petrogenesis Of Basaltic Lavas In Iceland And The Springerville Volcanic Field, U.S.A.: The Influence Of Tectonic Setting, Depth Of Melting And Volatiles, Marissa Mnich
Doctoral Dissertations
Icelandic basalts were long thought to be low in water (e.g. Gunnarsson et al., 1998), but more recent studies suggest that hotspots, like the Iceland mantle plume, may be a source of hydrous basaltic melts (Nichols et al., 2002). To explore a possible link between location, volatile concentration and resulting petrogenetic implications, samples were collected from eleven volcanic centers throughout Iceland. Water concentrations were measured in melt inclusions and phenocrysts using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Results for a subset of samples indicate variable water in melt inclusions ranging from approximately 50 ppm to over 3000 ppm. Samples from southwestern …
Numerical Modeling Of Deformation Within Restraining Bends And The Implications For The Seismic Hazard Of The San Gorgonio Pass Region, Southern California, Jennifer Hatch
Doctoral Dissertations
Assessment of seismic hazards in southern California may be improved with more accurate characterization of active geometry, stress state, and slip rates along the active San Andreas fault strands within the San Gorgonio Pass region. For example, on-going debate centers on the activity and geometry of the Mill Creek and Mission Creek strands. Calculated misfits of model slip rates to geologic slip rates for six alternative active fault configuration models through the San Gorgonio Pass reveal two best-fitting models, both of which fit many but not all available geologic slip rates. Disagreement between the model and geologic slip rates indicate …
Middle To Late Pleistocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions From Lake El'gygytgyn, Arctic Russia, Mary Helen Habicht
Middle To Late Pleistocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions From Lake El'gygytgyn, Arctic Russia, Mary Helen Habicht
Doctoral Dissertations
Climate change is a major issue challenging the world today. Our global society faces rising temperatures, variable weather patterns, and rising sea level among other associated issues. Our action (or inaction) to address current changes will have serious ramifications for life on our planet in the coming centuries and millennia. In order to provide context for these present and future changes, we can utilize the paleo record to understand the natural variability of Earth’s climate system. One region of the world is changing more rapidly than the global average. Over recent decades, the Arctic has experienced warmer temperatures, reduced sea …
Defining And Addressing Interconnected Goals In Groundwater Management Planning Across The Usa, Allison Gage
Defining And Addressing Interconnected Goals In Groundwater Management Planning Across The Usa, Allison Gage
Masters Theses
Groundwater accounts for approximately 99% of the available freshwater on Earth, and is an important resource for irrigation, potable water, and domestic use in the United States. However, the overuse of groundwater has led to aquifer depletion in several basins across the USA, resulting in storage reduction, contamination, salt water intrusion, and depletion of surface waters. To properly manage groundwater for the future, there is a need for well-informed Groundwater Management Plans (GWMPs) in order to prevent further depletion and erosion of the resource. Previous studies have focused on groundwater management relative to groundwater laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements. This …
Spatial And Temporal Mapping Of Distributed Precipitation, Surface And Groundwater Stable Isotopes Enables Insights Into Hydrologic Processes Operating At A Catchment Scale, Alison Cole
Masters Theses
Isotopic analyses of d18O and d2H of water through the hydrologic cycle have allowed hydrologists to make better interpretations related to climate and relationships between precipitation, surface water, and groundwater. In this study 394 precipitation samples 1917 surface water samples and 1405 groundwater samples across Massachusetts was used to create an isoscape for each respective water. All samples have been collected by volunteers throughout Massachusetts. A state meteoric water line: d2H = 7.7*d18O + 9.8, surface water line: d2H = 5.7*d18O – 4.2, and groundwater line: d2 …
Hydrologic Structure And Function Of Vernal Pools In South Deerfield, Massachusetts, Charlotte Axthelm
Hydrologic Structure And Function Of Vernal Pools In South Deerfield, Massachusetts, Charlotte Axthelm
Masters Theses
Vernal pools are small, ephemeral wetlands lacking an inlet or outlet. These wetlands, also known as seasonal pools, are found in a wide range of biomes, and their characteristics vary based on location. While the vegetation of western U.S. pools, and amphibians of eastern U.S. pools have been extensively studied, many aspects of vernal pools have not been fully characterized. In particular, although the general seasonal wetting and drying cycle is understood qualitatively, few studies have attempted to quantify the hydrological regime of vernal pools in New England. As water level variation drives many, if not all, of the characteristics …
In-Situ Zircon And Monazite Geochronology From Compositionally Distinct Layers In A Single Migmatitic Paragneiss Sample Located In The Eastern Adirondack Mountains, Ny, Kaitlyn Suarez
Masters Theses
Migmatites are a common rock type in the Adirondack Mountains, NY. We analyzed a single sample of biotite-garnet-sillimanite paragneiss with foliation parallel leucosome along Route 22 south of Whitehall, NY in order to determine the timing of melting using both in-situ monazite and zircon U/Pb geochronology from the restite and leucosome layers of the same rock. Monazite was analyzed via in-situ EMPA on the Ultrachron microprobe at the University of Massachusetts. Zircon was analyzed via LA-ICP-MS (in-situ and mounted mineral separates) at the LaserChron Center. Monazite analyses from the restite yielded six compositionally distinct populations with dates of 1178 ± …
Sorption Temperature And And The Stability Of Iron-Bound Soil Organic Matter, Michael L. Nguyen
Sorption Temperature And And The Stability Of Iron-Bound Soil Organic Matter, Michael L. Nguyen
Doctoral Dissertations
The preservation of soil organic matter (SOM) is an important control on the global cycling of carbon. Long-term preservation of SOM has important implications on soil fertility and climate regulation. Minerals, such as iron oxides, can react with SOM and serve as a preservation mechanism for SOM. Globally, iron oxide-SOM interactions form a “rusty carbon sink” which protects up to 22% of organic carbon in marine sediments. Climate changes, such as warming, may alter the size or efficacy of the “rusty carbon sink.” The effects of temperature, SOM composition, and mineral particle size on the formation and stability of iron …
The Climatic And Hydrostratigraphic Controls On Brine-To-Freshwater Interface Dynamics In Hyperarid Climates: A 2-D Parametric Groundwater Modeling Study, Sarah Mcknight
Masters Theses
Density dependent flow occurs in areas where high-salinity groundwater interacts with low-salinity groundwater to create a brine-to-freshwater interface that defies common assumptions about groundwater movement. Yet the geologic and hydrologic factors that impact interface dynamics and migration remain poorly defined. With less than 20 mm•yr-1 of precipitation and with an extremely dense (i.e. 1.2 g•cm-3) naturally occurring brine, Chile’s Salar de Atacama (SdA) provides an excellent analog for exploring interface dynamics in other arid regions. Site-specific 2-D models of the interface in the southeastern region of SdA, with interpretations of the hydrostratigraphic framework, provide an analysis for …
Wildfires In The Northeastern United States: Evaluating Fire Occurrence And Risk In The Past, Present, And Future, Daniel R. Miller
Wildfires In The Northeastern United States: Evaluating Fire Occurrence And Risk In The Past, Present, And Future, Daniel R. Miller
Doctoral Dissertations
Climate change is one of the most complex and challenging issues facing the world today. A changing climate will affect humankind in many ways and alter our physical environment, presenting ethical challenges in how we respond. The impact of climate change will likely be exacerbated in heavily populated regions of the planet, such as the Northeastern United States (NEUS). The NEUS is comprised of complex, sprawling urban centers and rural regions, both of which are vital to the economic and cultural character of the region. Furthermore, both urban and rural areas in the NEUS contain communities that have been historically …
Insar Simulations For Swot And Dual Frequency Processing For Topographic Measurements, Gerard Masalias Huguet
Insar Simulations For Swot And Dual Frequency Processing For Topographic Measurements, Gerard Masalias Huguet
Masters Theses
In Earth remote sensing precise characterization of the backscatter coefficient is important to extract valuable information about the observed target. A system that eliminates platform motion during near-nadir airborne observations is presented in this thesis, showing an improvement on the accuracy of measurements for a Ka- band scatterometer previously developed at Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL). These very same results are used to simulate the reflectivity of such targets as seen from a spaceborne radar and estimate height errors based on mission-specific geometry. Finally, data collected from a dual-frequency airborne interferometer com- prised by the Ka-band system and an S-band …
Root-Driven Weathering Impacts On Mineral-Organic Associations Over Pedogenic Time Scales, Mariela Garcia Arredondo
Root-Driven Weathering Impacts On Mineral-Organic Associations Over Pedogenic Time Scales, Mariela Garcia Arredondo
Masters Theses
Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia. Conversely, root-driven weathering may also transform secondary minerals, potentially enhancing the bioavailability of C previously protected in MOAs. Here we examined the impact of root-driven weathering on MOAs and their capacity to store C over pedogenic time scales. I compared soil that experienced root-driven weathering, resulting in the formation of discrete …
Legacy Sediment Controls On Post-Glacial Beaches Of Massachusetts, Alycia Ditroia
Legacy Sediment Controls On Post-Glacial Beaches Of Massachusetts, Alycia Ditroia
Masters Theses
Here we examine seasonal grain-size trends on 18 beaches in the Northeastern US and dispersed along the post-glacial coast of Massachusetts (USA) in order to explore the mechanisms influencing median grain size and slope. Over 800 grain size samples were collected along 200 summer and winter cross-shore beach elevation surveys. Obtained grain size and beach slope data are compared to coastal morphology, sediment source, wave height, and tidal magnitude in order to ascertain controls on beach characteristics. In general, median grain size increases with intertidal beach slope in the study region. However, grain sizes along post-glaciated beaches in the study …
The River Process Corridor: A Modular River Assessment Method Based On Process Units And Widely Available Data In The Northeast Us., John D. Gartner, Christine E. Hatch, Eve Vogel, Et. Al.
The River Process Corridor: A Modular River Assessment Method Based On Process Units And Widely Available Data In The Northeast Us., John D. Gartner, Christine E. Hatch, Eve Vogel, Et. Al.
Water Reports
We define the river process corridor (RPC) as the area adjacent to a river that is likely to affect and be affected by river and floodplain processes. Here we present a novel approach for delineating the RPC that utilizes widely available geospatial data, can be applied uniformly across broad and multi-scalar spatial extents, requires relatively low levels of expertise and cost, and allows for modular additions and adaptations using additional data that is available in particular areas. Land managers are increasingly using a variety of delineated river and floodplain areas for applied purposes such as hazard avoidance, ecological conservation, and …
Introduction To Oceanography – Honors (Geol 103h), Isla Casteneda
Introduction To Oceanography – Honors (Geol 103h), Isla Casteneda
Sustainability Education Resources
A general education course designed to acquaint you with the fascinating features of the nearly 71% of our home planet covered by water. These are broad themes that reflect the spirit and value of the general education curriculum that is a part of your UMass experience. As citizens of our small world, we would argue that everyone should take a course like this! With jet service to almost anywhere in the world, financial markets electronically and politically linked for “real time” transactions 24-7, and global populations striving to live as well as we do here in the U.S., it's important …
Accessible Science: The Natural History Of The Connecticut River Valley, Fred Venne
Accessible Science: The Natural History Of The Connecticut River Valley, Fred Venne
Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars
Many students take an Earth science or geology course to fulfill a requirement, knowing little to nothing about the field. Like all sciences, geology can appear to have ready answers unconnected to other areas of human endeavor, such as art, religion or philosophy. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching can ameliorate this perception for students who are intimidated by the subject and deepen understanding for those who are already excited about geology. We will examine two strategies designed to support the nature of science while scaffolding student learning in geology: research based digital resources use and museum of natural history visits. …