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Origin Of Tunnel Valley And Esker Assemblages In The Saginaw Lobe, Barry County, Michigan, Caleb J. Woolever

Masters Theses

Surficial mapping, borehole analysis, and ground penetrating radar surveys are used to reconstruct conditions leading to the formation of tunnel valley and esker networks within the Dowling 7 .5 minute quadrangle. The relationship between tunnel valleys and eskers has important implications on the subglacial hydrology beneath the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

Surficial mapping reveals northeast-southwest trending tunnel valleys, some containing eskers of the same orientation, in hummocky topography mapped as the Saginaw Kalamazoo Moraine. A borehole hole drilled through one such tunnel valley and esker pair reveals sand and gravel fining upwards to fine sand. Stratigraphy suggests …

Influence Of Bioirrigation On Metal Distribution Within Burrows, Terri Shattuck

Masters Theses

Bioirrigation is the increase of solute transport resulting from introduction of oxygenated water from the surface into the more reduced environment deep within the burrow. Fe and Mn hydr-(oxides) accumulate on burrow margins in response to the oxygen flux into suboxic porewaters. This has been shown to trap trace metals (Harding and Risk, 1986; Tessier and Campbell, 1988; Tessier et al., 1979, 1982). The diagenesis, mobility, and transport of metals contribute to the bioavailability of metals in the environment possibly to the extent of harming ecosystems; especially in coastal areas with buried waste. This study assesses Fe and trace metal …

Relationship Between Slug-Test And Effective Hydraulic Conductivities For 2-Dimensional Heterogeneous Aquifers, Richard Walker Donat

Masters Theses

Slug tests are one of the most common field tests used by hydrogeologists to evaluate the hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer system. Steady-state and transient (slug test) numerical simulations were run in 37, 2-dimensional randomized multifractal hydraulic conductivity fields. Each field consisted of 59,049 individual saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) values with varying numbers of hydrofacies and different degrees of spatial heterogeneity. The K_eff values were determined by examining the flux in and out of the steady-state numerical model. The K_slug values were determined by adding a slug of water to the center node of the field and evaluating …

Analysis Of Pore Architecture And Correlation To Sonic Velocity Values In Silurian (Niagaran) Reefs Of The Michigan Basin, Amy Kathryn Noack

Masters Theses

Recent work has shown that there is a complex relationship among porosity, permeability, and rock fabric in carbonate rocks. Porosity/permeability transforms are of limited value when evaluating carbonate reservoirs because permeability is controlled by pore type. Vuggy, moldic, or fenestral pore types have high porosity but poor permeability; in contrast, intergranular and intercrystalline pore networks have high porosity and high permeability. Visible pore types of key facies in five Middle Silurian (Niagaran) Reef reservoirs of the Michigan Basin were evaluated to better understand related permeability. Image analysis was performed on key facies to understand pore geometries and pore connectivity. Facies …

Tectonometamorphic Evolution Of The Eastern Blue Ridge: Differentiating Multiple Paleozoic Orogenic Pulses In The Glenville And Big Ridge Quadrangles, Southwestern North Carolina, Donald W. Stahr

Masters Theses

New field and analytical data collected in the eastern Blue Ridge (EBR) of southwestern North Carolina reveal a complex, polyphase thermotectonic history, and delimit the timing of previously unrecognized orogenic pulses in a portion of the southern Appalachian orogenic core. Detailed geologic mapping of the Glenville and Big Ridge 7.5’ quadrangles delineated the location of the Chattahoochee fault, a tectonic boundary separating the western Tugaloo terrane from distinct central Blue Ridge terranes.

Zircon geochronologic data for two EBR granitoids in the map area indicate emplacement occurred at ~335 Ma, making these plutons among the youngest recognized in the EBR. Bulk-rock …

Amino Acid Analysis Of Marine Sediments, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, Tabbatha A. Cavendish

Masters Theses

Amino acid compositions, bulk organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total organic matter were measured for eight sediment samples from the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, in order to assess the source and fate of organic matter in a shallow marine environment. Samples were collected from near-shore and off-shore shore sites, as well as from a site receiving freshwater input from multiple rivers. A comparison of carbon, nitrogen, and amino acid compositions of samples between 1 cm depth (Uhle 2004) and 5 cm depth was used to assess changes in organic matter composition through time. Amino acid analyses in particular should be …

Ground Penetrating Radar Investigations On The Relationship Between Horizontal Sub-Wavelength ‘Thin-Layer’ Bedrock Fractures And Reflection Amplitudes, Kevin E. Burns

Masters Theses

Several theoretical equations that predict sub-wavelength ‘thin-layer’ reflection amplitudes are compared to the results of a series of controlled ground penetrating radar surveys using 1 GHz transducers over a physical model of a horizontal bedrock fracture. Two large plastic (UHMW-PE) blocks, separated by one or more stacked inserts (polyethylene; ~0.1 mm thick) for a total of 101 surveys, generate a modeled fracture with an aperture ranging from 0-300 mm. All existing theoretical reflection coefficient equations fail to predict observed reflection amplitude oscillations in the data when the fracture aperture is less than 1/48 of a wavelength. The only theoretical formulation …

Morphological Analysis Of The Charlevoix-Antrim And Northport Drumlin Fields, Michigan Using Digital Elevation Models, Alan M. Lefever

Masters Theses

The Charlevoix-Antrim and Northport drumlin fields, located in northwest Lower Michigan, lie on opposite sides of Grand Traverse Bay. Morphological measurements were derived from topographic maps and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), combined with grain size analyses performed on collected drumlin sediments. Comparison of the morphological results demonstrates that statistical analysis of equal or better accuracy can be performed on drumlins using high resolution DEMs. The grain size analysis determined that the drumlins contain more gravel near the coast and become sandier to the south and east.

Spindle drumlins are the dominant drumlin form in both the Charlevoix-Antrim and Northport fields. …

Backstripping The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure: Differentiating Regional Tectonics From Impact Effects, Travis Gary Hayden

Masters Theses

The Chesapeake Bay impact structure is a ca. 35.4 Ma old crater located on the coastal plain of Virginia along the eastern seaboard of North America. The impact generated a crater between 85 and 90 km in diameter, and over 2000 meters deep. Deposition returned to normal shortly after impact, resulting in a unique record of both the impact related and subsequent passive margin sedimentation. We use backstripping to show that the impact strongly affected sedimentation for 7 m.y. through a combination of impact derived crustal scale tectonics, dominated by the introduction and subsequent removal of a negative thermal anomaly, …

Lateral Reservoir Compartmentalization Of The Woodford Shale In The Arkoma Basin, Southeastern Oklahoma, Adedapo Omotunde Ajibade

Masters Theses

"Analysis of geochemistry, mineralogy, total organic content (TOC) and rock evaluation pyrolysis on Woodford Shale well cuttings taken from a horizontal well (Quaid 13-30H) drilled in the Arkoma Basin (Pittsburg County), Oklahoma shows no significant variation in the thermal maturity, type, and/or quantity of organic matter. This is interpreted to mean that the organic matter of the Woodford Shale is relatively homogeneous and has all undergone similar thermal history. In addition, the analysis shows that there are lateral variations in the gas geochemistry in which the shale appears to be broken up into sections, some of which are more enhanced …

The Carbonatite-Hosted Apatite Deposit Of Jacupiranga, Se Brazil: Styles Of Mineralization, Ore Characterization And Association With Mineral Processing, Paula Regina Alves

Masters Theses

"The carbonatite-hosted apatite deposit of Jacupiranga is located in southeastern Brazil. The major styles of apatite mineralization are veins or veinlets, small pods or patches, disseminated apatite, and massive aggregates (locally). The concentration of apatite involves grinding of the carbonatite, removal of magnetite with a magnet drum, size classification with cyclones, and flotation to suppress carbonates and collect apatite. Samples of carbonatite were collected from more recent exposures of the mine and drill holes. This study utilized a variety of microscopy methods, namely transmitted and reflected light, cathodoluminescence (CL), and scanning electron microscopy (with wavelength-dispersive spectrometers for mineral compositions)"--Abstract, page …

Textural Analysis Of A Rhyolite Dike Of The Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen At Medicine Park, Oklahoma, Sean Patrick O'Donnell

Masters Theses

"Detailed analysis of the modal abundance and crystal size distribution (CSD) of glomerocrystic quartz and alkali feldspar phenocrysts in a porphyritic "rhyolite" dike at Medicine Park, Oklahoma were integrated with known phase relationships in the system SiO₂-NaAlSi₃O₈-KAlSi₃-O₈-H₂O to constrain the history of this intrusion"--Abstract, page iv.