Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Web-Based Gis For Groundwater Exploration In Arid Lands, Nakul Manocha

Masters Theses

A three-fold exercise was conducted to assess the groundwater potentiality in the Eastern Desert (ED) of Egypt. First, a database was generated to host all relevant data sets in a GIS environment for a better understanding of the spatial relationships between these data sets. Co-registered digital mosaics were generated from relevant data sets including remote sensing (e.g., Landsat TM, SIR-C, SRTM, TRMM), geochemical (solute concentrations, O and H stable isotope composition), geological (geologic maps), and hydrological (lithology, depth to water table) data sets. Second, a web-based GIS interface (ArcIMS) was developed to provide a vehicle for data analysis, visualization, and …

Development Of A Dilatant Damage Zone Along A Thrust Relay In A Low-Porosity Quartz Arenite, Jennie E. Cook

Masters Theses

A damage zone developed along a backthrust fault system in well-cemented quartz arenite of the Tuscarora Sandstone in the Alleghanian foreland thrust system consists of a network of NW-dipping thrusts that are linked by multiple higher-order faults and bound a zone of intense extensional fractures and breccias. The damage zone is unusual in that it preserves porous brittle fabrics despite formation at >5km depth. The damage zone developed at an extensional step-over between two independent, laterally propagating backthrusts. Continued displacement resulted in breaching of the relay and formation of faultbounded horses, and favored the formation of extensional fractures. The presence …

Detection Of Enteric Viruses In East Tennessee Public Ground Water Systems, Trisha Baldwin Johnson

Masters Theses

A two-part study was conducted by University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Exposure Research Laboratory to (1) develop, validate, and test a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) assay for enteroviruses in ground water samples and to (2) perform the first survey of enteric viral occurrence in the karst aquifers of East Tennessee. Karst aquifers are expected to have a high susceptibility to viral contamination because of the rapid flow (100’s of m/day) and frequent occurrence of fecal indicator bacteria typically observed in these systems.

Real-time RT-PCR primers and probes specific for …

Identification Of Terrestrial Alkalic Rocks Using Thermal Emission Spectroscopy: Applications To Martian Remote Sensing, Tasha Laurrelle Dunn

Masters Theses

We present a detailed study examining the use of laboratory thermal emission spectra (5-25 μm at 2 cm^-1 spectral sampling) for identification and classification of alkalic volcanic rocks. Modal mineralogies and derived bulk rock chemistries of a suite of terrestrial alkali basalts, trachyandesites, trachytes, and rhyolites were determined using linear spectral deconvolution. Model-derived mineral modes were compared to modes measured using an electron microprobe mapping technique to access the accuracy of linear deconvolution in determining mineral abundances. Standard deviations of 1σ of absolute differences between measured and modeled mineral abundances range from 0.68 to 15.02 vol %, with …

Structural And Stratigraphic Investigations Of The Bays Mountain Synclinorium, Parrottsville And A Portion Of Cedar Creek 7.5-Minute Quadrangles, East Tennessee, Neil E. Whitmer

Masters Theses

The southern Valley and Ridge foreland fold-thrust belt is comprised of a wedge of Lower Cambrian through Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks that were folded and faulted during the late stages of the Alleghanian orogeny. Within one of the eastern thrust sheets lies the Bays Mountain synclinorium. Rocks as young as Middle Ordovician are preserved in the core of the synclinorium and record the evolution of a Taconian (Blountian) Sevier tectonic basin.

The Parrottsville and Cedar Creek 7.5-minute quadrangles are located on the southeastern flank of the Bays Mountain synclinorium of East Tennessee and contain rocks belonging to the Conasauga, Knox, and …

Development Of A Dilatant Damage Zone Along A Thrust Relay In A Low-Porosity Quartz Arenite, Jennie E. Cook

Masters Theses

A damage zone developed along a backthrust fault system in well-cemented quartz arenite of theTuscarora Sandstone in the Alleghanian foreland thrust system consists of a network of NW-dipping thrusts that are linked by multiple higher-order faults and bound a zone of intense extensional fractures and breccias. The damage zone is unusual in that it preserves porous brittle fabrics despite formation at >5km depth. The damage zone developed at an extensional step-over between two independent, laterally propagating backthrusts. Continued displacement resulted in breaching of the relay and formation of faultbounded horses, and favored the formation of extensional fractures. The presence of …

Virus Transport During Transient Unsaturated And Steady-State Saturated Flow Conditions In Memphis Aquifer Sand, Andrew Boruff Kenst

Masters Theses

The overall goal of this research was to determine the effect of transient unsaturated flow conditions on the transport of a virus in aquifer material. It was hypothesized that viruses would be transported at the same rate and over the same distance as the migration of the wetting front and that virus retention during transient unsaturated flow would be similar to that during steady-state saturated flow. Virus transport during transient unsaturated horizontal flow was experimentally compared with its behavior under steady-state saturated vertical flow. In the transient flow experiment, virus (ΦX174) suspension was introduced into an initially air-dry repacked Memphis …

Deciphering Eustatic And Tectonic Influences During Parasequence Development In The Mesoprotozoic Helena/Wallace Formation, Belt Supergroup, Montana And Idaho, Stephen Alan Welch

Masters Theses

The stratigraphic architecture of sedimentary basins results from a combination of changes in relative sea-level and tectonism, and resulting changes in sediment supply. The Helena/Wallace formations, Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup, Montana and Idaho, consists of >500 meters of stacked meter-scale cycles (parasequences) that record in situ carbonate deposition as well as siliciclastic deposition from both the Laurentian craton and an unknown (tectonically active?) western source. In this study, statistical methods and 2-D forward modeling are combined with geochemical provenance analysis to examine parasequence stacking patterns and decipher the relative eustatic and tectonic controls on sequence development.

Helena/Wallace parasequences are typically composed …

Stratigraphic And Structural Relationships Of The Ocoee Supergroup, Southern Appalachians: Implications For Neoproterzoic Rift Basin Architecture And Paleozoic Collisional Orogenesis, James Ryan Thigpen

Masters Theses

The late Proterozoic-Early Cambrian Ocoee Supergroup (OSG)is the dominant lithostratigraphic sequence of the western Blue Ridge (WBR) province in southeast Tennessee, southwest North Carolina, and northern Georgia. The OSG is divided into the basal Snowbird Group (SG) that nonconformably overlies Grenvillian basement, the thick Great Smoky Group (GSG) that is usually in fault contact with the Snowbird Group, and the Walden Creek Group (WCG) that directly underlies the Cambrian Chilhowee Group and conformably overlies both the Snowbird and Great Smoky Groups. Traditional interpretations suggest that the OSG was deposited during late Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian rifting along the southeast Laurentian margin, initially …

Investigating Nickel Partitioning In A Contaminant Aquifer, Suama Ndengu

Masters Theses

Improved prediction of the transport and bioavailability of metals in contaminated sediments demands a better quantitative understanding of how metals partition between aqueous solutions and mineral phases. This research examines the partitioning of nickel in a contaminated aquifer from Grand Rapids, Ml. Contaminated aquifer sediments were examined using the five step Tessier et al. (1979) operationally defined sequential extraction procedure to determine the solid phase distribution of nickel in the aquifer sediments. Models used to guide remediation efforts at the contaminated site assume that Ni behavior can be predicted based on Ni adsorption onto ferrihydrite (HFO). Although sequential extraction results …

Distribution And Transportation Of Coal Tar Contaminants In The Chattanooga Creek Floodplain, Dalphania Syreeta Dickerson

Masters Theses

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, tens of thousands of tons of coal tar were disposed of in Chattanooga Creek during operations of the Chattanooga Coke Plant (1918-1987). Coal tar is composed of thousands of organic compounds, which span a wide range of molecular weight. Many of these compounds are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and are known carcinogens. Chattanooga Creek is an urban creek, which runs through the southern part of the city of Chattanooga and is surrounded by industrial development, residential neighborhoods, parks, and schools. Due to the hazardous nature of coal tar and coal tar constituents, portions of the creek and …

Determination Of An Appropriate Geometrical Model For Soil Aggregates Based Upon Specific Surface Area Scaling, Jeremy E. Lawson

Masters Theses

The appropriate geometrical form of soil aggregates is important for modeling soil hydraulic and mechanical properties. To investigate this topic, specific surface are (SSA) measurements were conducted on soul aggregates obtained from two sites. Differing long-term agricultural practices at the two sites resulted in nine distinct soil treatments. Each of the soil treatments was fractionated into five size classes and the SSA of each class was measured using the nitrogen adsorption technique. The measured data were then compared to simulated SSA results. To accomplish this, six geometrical models were developed, using either Euclidean or fractal geometry, to predict the SSA …

Experimental Investigation Of The Breakdown Of Dolomite And Isotope Transport In Rock Cores At 100 Mpa, 650–750 °C, Michael Thomas Deangelis

Masters Theses

The kinetics of the breakdown reaction dolomite = periclase + calcite + CO2 were investigated using cores of dolomitic marble. Two samples of Reed Dolomite from southwestern Nevada were cut into cylinders approximately 4×6 mm in size.

The cores were sealed in gold capsules with isotopically enriched water (H218O or HD 18O0.5 16 O0.5). The samples were heated in a cold-seal hydrothermal apparatus to 650–750 °C at 100 MPa for durations ranging from 2–59 days. The cores were then sectioned and examined by EMP, XRD, and SIMS techniques. All experiments show some amount of reaction regardless of duration or temperature. …

Seasonal Variability In Trace Metal Speciation And Vertical Redox Stratification Of Freshwater Lake And Marsh Sediments In The Kalamzoo River Watershed (Mi, Usa), Noah Tumusiime Ndenga

Masters Theses

This research was aimed at: 1) quantifying redox-sensitive parameters in order to study redox stratification of the upper freshwater sediments at Asylum Lake and Kleinstuck Marsh, 2) quantifying the speciation of metals (e.g., Pb, Mn, Fe, Cr, Cu, Zn, Co and Cd), particularly with respect to their association with Fe and Mn (hydr)oxide phases, and 3) assessing changes in redox stratification and metal speciation as a function of season in the sediments. Both the solid phase and sediment pore waters were collected to a depth of ~50cm. Pore waters were analyzed for redox-sensitive species and the sediment solid phase was …

Glacial Stratigraphy And Surficial Geology Of The Decatur, Lawrence, And Paw Paw U.S.G.S.7.5 Minute Quadrangles In Van Buren County, Michigan, Brian Bird

Masters Theses

The modern day landscape of Van Buren County Michigan was created by the advance and retreat of glaciers from about 13,000 to 20,000 years ago. The Lake Michigan Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet sculpted southwest Michigan most recently. The sediments deposited by the glacier include diamicton, outwash sediments, and lacustrine deposits. The build up of sediment by the glaciers led to the construction of particular features such as moraines, till plains, and outwash fans. The huge amount of meltwater from the glaciers led to the erosion of channels throughout the area. In the area of this investigation the Ganges …