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An Integrated Geophysical And Geologic Study Of The Paleogene-Age Volcanic Body And Possible Landslide Deposit On The South Slope Of The Traverse Mountains, Utah, John C. Hoopes

Theses and Dissertations

Development of homes, roads, and commercial buildings in northern Utah has grown significantly during the last several decades. Construction has expanded from the valley floor to higher elevations of benches, foothills, and other elevated regions of the Wasatch Mountain Front. Construction in the higher elevation areas are a concern due to potential for landslides, both new and reactivated. Landslides have been identified in this region and are dated as Pleistocene to historical in age. A possible landslide of about 0.5 km2 on the south slope of Traverse Mountain has been mapped by the Utah Geological Survey in 2005. Its surface …

Quantification Of Glacier Melt Volume In The Indus River Watershed, Maria Nicole Asay

Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying the contribution of glaciers to water resources is particularly important in locations where glaciers may provide a large percentage of total river discharge. In some remote locations, direct field measurements of melt rates are difficult to acquire, so alternate approaches are needed. Positive degree-day modeling (PDD) of glacier melt is a valuable tool to making first order approximations of the volume of melt coming from glaciers. In this study, a PDD-melt model is applied to glaciers in the Indus River watershed located in Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan. Here, millions of people rely on the water from the Indus …

Sequence Stratigraphy Of Basal Oquirrh Group Caronates (Bashkirian) Thorpe Hills, Lake Mountain, Wasatch Front, Utah, Andrew D. Derenthal

Theses and Dissertations

The Early Pennsylvanian (Bashkirian/Morrowan) Bridal Veil Limestone of north-central Utah was deposited in the eastern portion of the rapidly subsiding Oquirrh basin. The 420 meter-thick Bridal Veil Limestone displays distinct cyclicity formed by stacked, meter to decameter scale high-frequency sequences and their constituent parasequences. Though no one ideal cycle may be defined for the Bridal Veil Limestone, each high-frequency sequence and parasequence contains a general shallowing upward trend that ranges from anaerobic to dysaerobic mudstone at the base to skeletal wackestone to mud-dominated packstone, capped by heterozoan grain-rich carbonates or siliciclastic tidalites. Cycles bounded by exposure surfaces, indicated by micro-brecciation, …

Implications Of Dune Pattern Analysis For Titan's Surface History, Christopher Jon Savage

Theses and Dissertations

Analyzing dune parameters such as dune width and spacing can be useful in determining the reaction of dunes to changes in atmospheric and sedimentary conditions currently and in the recent geologic past. Dune parameters, dune width and spacing, were measured for linear dunes in regions across Saturn's moon Titan from images T21, 23, 28, 44 and 48 collected by Synthetic Aperture RADAR aboard the Cassini spacecraft in order to reconstruct the surface history of Titan. Dunes in the five study swaths are all linear in form, but lack superimposed or flanking dunes. They have a mean width of 1.3 km …

Geologic Mapping Of Exhumed, Mid-Cretaceous Paleochannel Complexes Near Castle Dale, Emery County, Utah: On The Correlative Relationship Between The Dakota Sandstone And The Mussentuchit Member Of The Cedar Mountain Formation, Amanda Elizabeth Mackay Sorensen

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous well-preserved, exhumed paleochannels in the Morrison, Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations are exposed east of Castle Dale, Utah. These channels consist primarily of point bar complexes and scattered, low sinuosity channels. To determine the vertical and lateral relationships of these channels within the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations, a 1:24,000 scale geologic map covering ~140 km2 was created showing the fluvial sandstones. In the study area the Cedar Mountain Formation consists, from bottom to top, of 2.5-10 m of Buckhorn Conglomerate Member equivalent units, ~80 m of the Ruby Ranch Member, and ~30 m of the Mussentuchit …

Identifying Complex Fluvial Sandstone Reservoirs Using Core, Well Log, And 3d Seismic Data: Cretaceous Cedar Mountain And Dakota Formations, Southern Uinta Basin, Utah., William H. Hokanson

Theses and Dissertations

The Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations are significant gas producers in the southern Uinta Basin of Utah. To date, however, predicting the stratigraphic distribution and lateral extent of potential gas-bearing channel sandstone reservoirs in these fluvial units has proven difficult due to their complex architecture, and the limited spacing of wells in the region. A new strategy to correlate the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations has been developed using core, well-log, and 3D seismic data. The detailed stratigraphy and sedimentology of the interval were interpreted using descriptions of a near continuous core of the Dakota Formation from the study area. …

Evolution And Emergence Of The Hinterland In The Active Banda Arc-Continent Collision: Insights From The Metamorphic Rocks And Coral Terraces Of Kisar, Indonesia, Jonathan R. Major

Theses and Dissertations

Coral terrace surveys and U-series ages of coral and mollusk shells yield a surface uplift rate of ~0.6 m/ka for Kisar Island. The small island is located NE of Timor in the active Banda Arc of Indonesia. Based on this rate, Kisar first emerged from the ocean as recently as ~450 ka. Terrace surveys show warping that follows a pattern of east-west striking folds, which are along strike of thrust-related folds of similar wavelength imaged by a seismic reflection profile just offshore. This deformation shows that the emergence of Kisar can be attributed to forearc closure along the south-dipping Kisar …

Facies Analysis And Reservoir Characterization Of Subtidal, Intertidal, And Supratidal Zones Of The Mudstone-Rich Entrada Sandstone, South-Central Utah, Tanner Charles Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding thickness variation and facies transitions in the mudstone-rich part of the Upper Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Entrada Sandstone depositional system is critical for constraining the paleogeography and evaluating the economic potential of Utah's Entrada Sandstone. Facies of the Entrada Sandstone in south-central Utah are dominated by mudstone-rich intertidal facies that were widespread within the Jurassic seaway. Intertidal deposits interfinger basinward with subtidal ooid-bearing shoals and bars, and landward supratidal sabkha, and erg-margin eolian deposits. Three sections were measured to improve understanding of the lateral and vertical facies transitions. Variations in thickness indicate the rate of developing accommodation space was high …

Using Temperature Profiles To Investigate The Hyporheic Zone In An Agricultural Drainage Ditch, Richard A. Suggs

Theses and Dissertations

During the last three decades, there has been much research on ground water/surface water interaction and hyporheic zone processes in natural rivers and streams. Research into natural systems has revealed significant ground water/surface water interaction and a complex variability that depends primarily on surface conditions, subsurface composition, and seasonal influences. Hyporheic zone interaction is an important factor contributing to water quality of both surface water and ground water systems.

This research expands on the concept of using heat transport, as revealed by temperature variation, as an analogue for water movement within a surface water/ground water system to include the man-made …

Stratigraphy And Petroleum Production Potential Of The Spearfish Formation In North Central North Dakota, Nnaemeka C. Anyanwu

Theses and Dissertations

The Spearfish oil play is unconventional requiring the use of horizontal wells that are fracture stimulated to deliver economic flow rates. However, fraccing into the underlying water has been a source of significant production problems for operators. The key to developing the area is to keep the individual fracs large enough to stimulate the tight Spearfish sands but not to let them propagate into the underlying water zone.

The Spearfish Formation of the Black Hills has been traced into the subsurface of the Williston Basin in western North Dakota from bore holes at the northern margin of the outcrop area …

Geomechanical Stability Analysis For Co2 Sequestration In Carbonate Formation, Xue J. Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Geomechanical analysis is one of the fundamental pillars to build up the confidence of geological sequestration of CO2. Large scale CO2 sequestration in deep carbonate formation is a complicated geological process, which will non-reversibly transform the presumed equivalent and stable status of a sedimentary basin that formed over millions of years: chemically, hydraulically, geothermally, and geomechanically. In this dissertation, thermoporoelasticity guides the theoretical establishment of a conservative baseline for the geomechanical stability analysis of CO2 sequestration.

Extensive laboratory tests, including CO2 flooding tests, permeability tests, uniaxial and triaxial tests, Brazilian tensile strength tests, poroelasticity tests, point load tests, and fracture …

Identifying Potential Geothermal Resources From Co-Produced Fluids Using Existing Data From Drilling Logs : Williston, North Dakota, Anna M. Crowell

Theses and Dissertations

With the current need for technology that will allow for environmentally-friendly power generation, geothermal power has become an attractive resource given its low environmental impact and potential cost savings. One specific resource is co-produced water from oil wells that are not currently producing, but can yield formation waters that are both high enough in temperature and fluid volume to operate the turbines of binary geothermal power systems. The data required to identify sites, i.e. bottom-hole temperatures (BHT), latitude, longitude, total depth of hole (TD) in meters, the identification number, and the amount of water produced in gallons, can be mined …