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MSU Graduate Theses

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Missouri

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Stream Bank And Bar Erosion Contributions And Land Use Influence On Suspended Sediment Loads In Two Ozark Watersheds, Southeast Missouri, Kayla Ann Coonen Aug 2020

Stream Bank And Bar Erosion Contributions And Land Use Influence On Suspended Sediment Loads In Two Ozark Watersheds, Southeast Missouri, Kayla Ann Coonen

MSU Graduate Theses

In-channel sources and storages of fine-sediment such as in banks and bars can influence sediment loads and overall geomorphic activity in stream systems. However, in-channel processes and effects on sediment load are rarely quantified in geomorphic or water quality studies. This study uses a sediment budget approach to assess the influence of bank erosion and bar deposition on fine sediment loads in Mineral Fork (491 km2) and Mill Creek (133 km2) watersheds located in the Ozark Highlands in Washington County, Missouri. These watersheds were disturbed by historical lead and barite mining which included the construction of …


Assessing Bioavailability, Metal Fractionation, Magnetic Susceptibility, And Organic Matter Interactivity In Mine-Waste Contaminated Sediments In Turkey Creek, Joplin, Missouri, Zachary Joseph Collette Aug 2019

Assessing Bioavailability, Metal Fractionation, Magnetic Susceptibility, And Organic Matter Interactivity In Mine-Waste Contaminated Sediments In Turkey Creek, Joplin, Missouri, Zachary Joseph Collette

MSU Graduate Theses

Joplin, Missouri, part of the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD), has a long history of mining that resulted in mine waste piles proximal to the mines throughout the area. A local lead smelter also resulted in smelter fallout in Joplin. Mine waste pile runoff and local smelter fallout resulted in contamination of sediments, soils, and waterways. In the 1990s, remediation of residential soils and play areas began after blood lead levels in children were much higher than the national average. Soon afterwards, the chat piles were removed and used for beneficial reuse purposes. In May of 2011, an EF5 tornado devastated …


Provenance Analysis Of The Grover Gravel Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Petrology And Heavy Mineral Analysis, Grant Spoering Dec 2017

Provenance Analysis Of The Grover Gravel Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Petrology And Heavy Mineral Analysis, Grant Spoering

MSU Graduate Theses

The Grover Gravel in the St. Louis, Missouri area contains a mix of chert, quartzite, jasper, and ironstone in clast sizes ranging up to 60 cm. The gravel varies in thickness from a veneer to over 30 feet and rests on upland surfaces at elevations sometimes exceeding 300 feet above the floors of major valleys. A pre-Pleistocene age generally has been proposed or assumed for the gravel, which classically has been interpreted to be a meandering-stream deposit atop an extensive flat upland surface, which was subsequently eroded and dissected by rejuvenated streams. However, large quartzite boulders in the gravel also …


Urban Detention Basin Contamination With Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) And Metals, Holly Marie Duff Aug 2017

Urban Detention Basin Contamination With Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) And Metals, Holly Marie Duff

MSU Graduate Theses

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds that can be toxic to wildlife and humans when released to the environment. Coal-tar sealants, which are applied to parking lots or driveways, contribute up to 1,000 times more PAHs than alternative sealants. Over time, these sealants abrade and are transported into drainage networks. Coal-tar sealants are currently used in Springfield, Missouri, however the extent of PAH contamination throughout urban drainage systems is unclear. This study focused on PAH contamination within an urban detention basin on the Missouri State University campus which receives runoff from several coal-tar sealed parking lots. Sediment samples collected …


Geomorphic Effects Of Logging Railbeds On An Ozarks Headwater Stream, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, Nickolas S. Bradley May 2017

Geomorphic Effects Of Logging Railbeds On An Ozarks Headwater Stream, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, Nickolas S. Bradley

MSU Graduate Theses

Geomorphic characteristics of headwater streams draining the Missouri Ozarks have not been studied as much as larger rivers in the region. Further, while the effects of historical logging on channel form and sediment supply have been identified, no studies have investigated the effects of logging tramways constructed along Ozark headwater rivers. This study examines the geomorphic characteristics and channel disturbances of Tram Hollow (1.67 km2) within the Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozark Highlands. The purpose of this study is to classify and quantify natural and disturbed channel morphology in Tram Hollow which has been affected by …


Channel Bar Morphology, Distribution, And Mining-Related Geochemistry In The Big River, St. Francois County, Missouri: Implications For Geomorphic Recovery, Lindsay Marie Olson May 2017

Channel Bar Morphology, Distribution, And Mining-Related Geochemistry In The Big River, St. Francois County, Missouri: Implications For Geomorphic Recovery, Lindsay Marie Olson

MSU Graduate Theses

Tailings releases associated with large-scale historical Pb mining in St. Francois County, Missouri resulted in system-wide contamination of Pb and excess sediment in the Big River. Previous studies have addressed basin and segment scale variability of the contaminants; however, little is known about reach and bar scale variability. This study addresses how mining sediment inputs influence bar form and geochemistry across a range of scales. Bar sediment samples were collected at 21 reaches and analyzed for particle size and geochemistry, while air photo analysis was used to evaluate channel morphology, bar type, and area. Bar area is initially low in …


Channel Sediment And Mining-Lead Storage In Flat River Creek, Old Lead Belt, Missouri, Ralph Joseph Hill Dec 2016

Channel Sediment And Mining-Lead Storage In Flat River Creek, Old Lead Belt, Missouri, Ralph Joseph Hill

MSU Graduate Theses

Historical mining for lead (Pb) in the Old Lead Belt District introduced large volumes of tailings into nearby streams resulting in the large-scale contamination of channel bed and bar deposits in Big River which drains the southeastern Missouri Ozarks. Tailings pile sites have been remediated so that present contamination sources to the river are primarily from the remobilization of Pb stored in channel and floodplain deposits. This study examined the channel geomorphology and sediment geochemistry of Flat River Creek (FRC), a major tributary to the Big River which drains an area that includes three of the six major mines in …


Spatial Distribution And Geomorphic Factors Of Lead Contamination On Floodplains Affected By Historical Mining, Big Rover, S.E. Missouri, David Bower Huggins May 2016

Spatial Distribution And Geomorphic Factors Of Lead Contamination On Floodplains Affected By Historical Mining, Big Rover, S.E. Missouri, David Bower Huggins

MSU Graduate Theses

Historical mining in the Old Lead Belt resulted in lead (Pb) contamination of floodplain soils for over 170 km along the Big River in southeastern Missouri. The overall pattern of contamination are understood. However, Pb distribution across floodplain surfaces has not been investigated at the scale needed for site-level remediation planning. The goal of this project is to examine spatial distribution of Pb with more detail and identify the role of geomorphic processes. Predictive models are needed to evaluate factors affecting Pb distribution such as elevation, distance from the channel, and geochemistry. This study evaluates Pb distribution at three ~1km …


Gravity And Magnetic Investigations Into Possible Economic Mineral Deposits Within The Northwest St. Francois Terrane, Southeastern Missouri, Brandon Todd Ives Jan 2015

Gravity And Magnetic Investigations Into Possible Economic Mineral Deposits Within The Northwest St. Francois Terrane, Southeastern Missouri, Brandon Todd Ives

MSU Graduate Theses

The exposed Precambrian St. Francois Mountains in southeast Missouri are a well-studied terrane of rhyolites, granites, and basaltic dikes, but much of the buried basement lithology west of the exposed region is still poorly delineated. The western St. Francois is host to large hydrothermal Pb-Zn and Fe-oxide ore deposits, some of which were located with previous geophysical investigations. The economic ore deposits specifically in the Pea Ridge Mine in Washington County contain known economic minerals and rare earth element deposits. In order to further investigate the Precambrian basement lithologies and the possible locations of additional economic ore deposits, a gravity …


Temporal Analysis Of Floodplain Deposition Using Urban Pollution Stratigraphy, Wilson Creek, Sw Missouri, Kathy A. Shade Jan 2003

Temporal Analysis Of Floodplain Deposition Using Urban Pollution Stratigraphy, Wilson Creek, Sw Missouri, Kathy A. Shade

MSU Graduate Theses

Alluvial sediments record both hydrologic changes and variations of sediment quality affecting watersheds. This study uses urban pollution signatures as temporal tracers to date alluvial deposits along Wilson Creek located within Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Park in southwestern Missouri. The creek drains Springfield, the third largest city in the state, which was settled in 1833. This study has three main objectives: (1) review historical documents to develop a pollution history for the watershed; (2) determine if there is a correlation between heavy metal and phosphorus concentrations in sediment cores and the timing of release of those elements into the creek …