Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Ductile Shear Zone Network Geometries In The Grassy Portage Sill, Rainy Lake Region, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, Ernest John Thalhamer

Theses and Dissertations

The Grassy Portage Sill (GPS) is a ~2.7 Ga metagabbroic sill located in the Rainy Lake region of northwestern Ontario. The Rainy Lake region is located in the Superior Province between the metavolcanic Wabigoon subprovince to the north and the metasedimentary Quetico subprovince to the south. Two regional faults bound the region and intersect to the east, forming a wedge which defines the Rainy Lake zone. This area was regionally deformed due to oblique transpression, resulting from the Kenoran Orogeny (~2.7 Ga). The GPS is approximately 20 km long and 1-2 km wide, and has undergone heterogeneous strain along its …

Discovery Of Paleotsunami Deposits Along Eastern Sunda Arc: Potential For Megathrust Earthquakes In Bali, Hanif Ibadurrahman Sulaeman

Theses and Dissertations

Several laterally extensive candidate tsunami deposits are preserved along coastlines facing the eastern Java Trench, indicating it has experienced mega-thrust earthquakes in the past. We investigated 37 coastal sites in Bali, Lombok, Sumba and Timor islands, many of which preserve course sand and pebble layers that overlie sharp basal contacts with scour marks into the mud, fine upward in grain size, and have bimodal grain size distributions. Other unique features are the common occurrence of marine fossils and concentrations of heavy minerals. The occurrence of these high-energy deposits interlayered with clay-rich units indicates the coarse clastics are anomalous because they …

Writing And Designing A Chapter On Mercury And Pluto For The Textbook Exploring The Planets (Explanet.Info), Braxton Clark Spilker

Theses and Dissertations

Exploring the Planets (http://explanet.info) is a free online college textbook covering thebasic concepts of planetary science emphasizing the character and evolution of the planetarybodies in the Solar System. The latest edition (3rd edition) was published online in 2007 by EricH Christiansen. Since the release of the third edition, two important planetary missions havebeen completed: MESSENGER (to Mercury) and New Horizons (to Pluto). These missionsprovided new information and fundamental insights into these planetary bodies, which have notyet been included in Exploring the Planets. The modern results based on recent investigations ofMercury and Pluto are critical for our understanding of the nature …

The Geochemistry And Mineralogy Of Surface Hydrothermal Alteration At Nesjavellir, Sw Iceland, Chase Glenister

Theses and Dissertations

Abundant sulfates have been detected by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in the Columbia Hills of Mars, consistent with extensive alteration of basalt by hydrothermal processes. This study uses Iceland’s Nesjavellir geothermal system as an analogue for Columbia Hills hydrothermal alteration. This terrestrial site is home to a variety of acidic and near-neutral waters that are actively altering the Mars-like basalt of host volcano Mt. Hengill. Hydrothermal features heated by H2S gas and phase-segregated steam created oxidizing acid-sulfate conditions at the surface with pH values varying between 3.0 and 2.0 and near-boiling temperatures. Mobilization of cations (FeO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, …

Invertebrate Paleoecology Of High Paleo-Latitude Carboniferous Strata Of The Tepuel-Genoa Basin, Argentina, Kate M. Gigstad

Theses and Dissertations

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), which began in the latest Devonian and ended in the Late Permian, was a time of active environmental changes. During this time, glaciers waxed and waned over the ancient continent of Gondwana that was situated over the southern pole. This time of transition from icehouse to greenhouse in the Permian is our closest analogue to our current environmental conditions and increased knowledge of our planetary past will greatly influence our future. Much of the previous research on marine invertebrate paleoecology during the LPIA occurs in far-field or low paleolatitude localities, but less is known …

Characterizing The Geochemical Changes Across A Strain Gradient In The Beja-Acebuches Metabasites Due To Retrograde Metamorphism And Fluid Flow Along The Southern Iberian Shear Zone, Sheryl Stephenson

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone (SISZ), SW Spain, provides an ideal location to study the effects of syntectonic fluid on rock chemistry, deformation, and metamorphism. The SISZ is a 60km long, 300-500m wide shear zone, striking 115 and dipping approximately 50 degrees to the NNE, that follows the contact between metamorphosed MORB-derived Acebuches metabasites (AB) of the Ossa-Morena zone and the metamorphosed Pulo do Lobo (PdL) accretionary prism. Both units underwent two deformational events: 1) a HT/LP event that reached amphibolite facies and significantly dehydrated the rocks, and 2) a retrograde metamorphic event from amphibolite-greenschist facies that required the addition …

Depositionally-Induced Magnetic Frequency Variations Of A Sandstone Facies Of The Copper Harbor Conglomerate From The North American, Mid-Continent Rift At Union Bay, Michigan, Elizabeth Anne Borucki

Theses and Dissertations

The Mesoproterozoic, Copper Harbor Conglomerate Sandstone Facies of Union Bay, Michigan was investigated to determine whether fluvial red beds from deep time can maintain magnetic variations related to deposition. Additionally, the possibility that magnetic variations represent astronomically forced climate cycles was also explored at this site. The study utilized environmental magnetism and cyclostratigraphic techniques. The magnetic mineralogy was characterized using temperature dependent susceptibility, isothermal remanent magnetization, and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility to determine composition, approximate grain size, abundance, and magnetic shape and orientation. For a partial cyclostratigraphic study, sequential, outcrop based magnetic susceptibly measurements were taken stratigraphically every 0.47 m …

Paleobiology And Taphonomy Of Exceptionally Preserved Putative Macroalgae From The Ediacaran Zuun-Arts Biota, Zavkhan Province, Mongolia, Keenan Hassell

Theses and Dissertations

The first unequivocal evidence of complex multicellular life appears in exceptionally preserved Ediacaran (635-541 Ma) fossil deposits. The newly discovered Ediacaran Burgess Shale-type (BST) Zuun-Arts Biota of Zavkhan Province, Mongolia, contains putative macroalgae fossils. Morphological measurements of 821 individual specimens including length, width, and branching angle obtained using ImageJ software were used to calculate morphological parameters including median thallus length (16.75 mm), filament width (0.50 mm), branching angle (63.63⁰), and surface area/volume ratio (8.19 mm -1). The Zuun-Arts biota contains fossils of six distinct morphotypes: non-branching, dichotomous branching, monopodial branching, fan-shaped, shrub-like, and small non-branching, all morphologies are similar to …

Hydrothermal Alteration At Devil's Kitchen In The Lassen Volcanic National Park: A Mars Analogue, Andy Wanta

Theses and Dissertations

The Devil’s Kitchen hydrothermal site, within the Lassen Volcanic National Park, has hydrothermal features that cover a wide range of pH conditions (2-7). Analysis of mineral precipitates, hot spring mud, unaltered substrate rock, and hot spring and meteoric water reveal a wide variety of alteration minerals, geochemical conditions, and water chemistry. Mineral suites included primary igneous phases, silica phases, clay minerals, and sulfate phases. Aluminum sulfates are the dominant sulfate species present with abundant Na+, Fe3+, and Ca2+ sulfate phases and less common K+ sulfates. Amorphous silica precipitates were observed in three samples from a near-neutral hot spring and one …

Modeling Climate Change Impacts On Water Balance Components Of The Mackinaw River Watershed, Central Illinois, Joseph Honings

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the response of water cycle dynamics to climate change and human activity is essential for best management of water resources. This study used the USDA Soil-Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to measure and predict major water balance variables including stream discharge, potential aquifer recharge, and surface storage in a small-scale watershed (~2,930 km²) in Central Illinois. The watershed is predominantly tile-drained agricultural land, which controls the nutrient dynamics and hydrology. Two reservoirs, Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington, and the Mahomet Aquifer in the watershed are used for public water supply. The subject watershed has been very sensitive to recent droughts, …

Lithofaces And Sequence Architecture Of The Upper Paradox Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian)In The Subsurface Northern Blanding Subbasin, Paradox Basin, Utah, Geoffrey William Ritter

Theses and Dissertations

THE PARADOX Basin is a northwest-southeast trending intracratonic basin that formedin southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah and adjacent parts of Arizona and New Mexicoduring the late Paleozoic Era. During rise of the adjacent Uncompahgre Uplift (Ancestral RockyMountains) the rapidly subsiding basin was filled with over 2000 m of Permo-Pennsylvaniansediments. Stacked depositional sequences accumulated in three roughly parallel facies belts: anortheastern clastic belt (adjacent to uplift), a central salt and black shale belt, and asouthwestern carbonate belt. Over 400 million barrels of oil have been extracted from upperParadox (Desert Creek and Ismay) carbonates in the southern Blanding Subbasin (Greater AnethField) since 1956. …

A Geophysical And Geological Analysis Of A Regressive-Phase Lake Bonneville Deposit, Pilot Valley, Nv, Katelynn Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Pilot Valley, located in the eastern Basin and Range, north of Wendover, UT, contains numerous shorelines and depositional remnants of late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. These remnants present classic ground penetrating radar (GPR) targets due to their coherent stratification, low clay, low salinity, and low moisture content. Three-dimensional (3D) GPR imaging can resolve fine-scale stratigraphy of these deposits down to a few centimeters. While lake levels fluctuated due to flooding events, climatic changes were the dominant factor in controlling lake levels. In Pilot Valley, the paleowind entered from the northwest, with storms coming from the south, and circulated clockwise around the …

A Geomorphological Study Of Yardangs In China, The Altiplano/Puna Of Argentina, And Iran As Analogs For Yardangs On Titan, Dustin Shawn Northrup

Theses and Dissertations

Collections of straight, RADAR-bright, linear features, or BLFs, on Saturn's moon Titan are revealed in Cassini SAR (Synthetic Aperture RADAR) images. Most are widely distributed across the northern midlatitudes SAR on SAR swaths T18, T23, T30, T64, and T83 and in swath T56 in the southern midlatitudes. To understand the origin of these features, we compare them with terrestrial yardangs in Dunhuang, China, the Altiplano/Puna of Argentina, and the Lut Desert of Iran and with a similar morphological landform, linear dunes in the Namib Sand Sea, Namibia and on Titan. We apply a statistical classification model developed through random forests, …

Lithofacies And Sequence Architecture Of The Upper Desert Creek Sequence (Middle Pennsylvanian, Paradox Formation) In The Greater Aneth Field, Southern Paradox Basin, Utah, Evan R. Gunnell

Theses and Dissertations

The Greater Aneth Buildup (GAB) is comprised of the 3rd-order middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Desert Creek sequence of the Paradox Formation. A hierarchy of 4th- and 5th order, carbonate-dominated cycles comprise the Upper Desert Creek (UDC) 4th-order sequence. A SE to NW trending transect line, utilizing core and petrophysical data from six oil and gas wells (from SE to NW wells R-19, Q-16, O-16, J-15, K-430, E-313), revealed deposition of seven carbonate facies within four 5th-order parasequences in the UDC. While each of the seven carbonate facies are present across the transect line, the UDC parasequences are dominated by a shallow-water …

Discovery Of Possible Paleotsunami Deposits In Pangandaran And Adipala, Java, Indonesia Using Grain Size, Xrd, And 14C Analyses, Kevin L. Stuart

Theses and Dissertations

Grain size, ¹⁴C age, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of sediments indicate possible tsunami deposits on the southern coast of Java near Pangandaran and Adipala. Previous studies that have described known recent and paleotsunami deposits were used for comparison. Fining-upward grain size trends, interbedded sand and mud, sediment composition, and trends in heavy mineral abundances are among the characteristics used for tsunami deposit identification. At Batu Kalde, an archaeological site south of Pangandaran, a layer of aragonitic sand with marine fossils was found atop a layer of archaeological fragments at an elevation of ~2-5 m. It is likely this …

Paleo-Environmental Interpretations And Weathering Effects Of The Mowry Shale From Geochemical Analysis Of Outcrop Samples In The Western Margin Of The Wind River Basin Near Lander, Wyoming, Trevor Robinson Tuttle

Theses and Dissertations

The Cretaceous Mowry Shale is an organic-rich, siliceous marine shale, and as such is a known source rock in the Western United States. Studies have documented that total organic carbon (TOC) in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming increases to the southeast. These studies cover large areas with limited sample sets. In this study, over 250 samples were collected near Lander, Wyoming to address spatial heterogeneity of TOC within the Mowry Shale at a much finer scale than previously examined. Samples were collected along five vertical sections at three localities, and following correlation of the vertical sections, which was strongly aided …

Assessing Tsunami Risk In Southwest Java, Indonesia: Paleo-Tsunami Deposits And Inundation Modeling, Han Deng

Theses and Dissertations

Samples from 13 different sites along the south coast of West Java yield 7 candidate paleo-tsunami sands, which may represent 4 different paleo-tsunami events. Ages obtained from one deposit may document a tsunami and coastal subsidence from an earthquake in 1,053 AD. The tsunami deposit from this event is preserved in an uplifted marine terrace exposed at Panto Cape, Banten Province. We speculated that the terrace has been uplifted about 4.6 m to the present height of 2 m above sea level, since the 1053 AD event at a rate of 4.8 mm/a. This uplift is strong evidence that strain …

Assessing Tsunami Risk In Southwest Java, Indonesia: Paleo-Tsunami Deposits And Inundation Modeling, Han Deng

Theses and Dissertations

Samples from 13 different sites along the south coast of West Java yield 7 candidate paleo-tsunami sands, which may represent 4 different paleo-tsunami events. Ages obtained from one deposit may document a tsunami and coastal subsidence from an earthquake in 1,053 AD. The tsunami deposit from this event is preserved in an uplifted marine terrace exposed at Panto Cape, Banten Province. We speculated that the terrace has been uplifted about 4.6 m to the present height of 2 m above sea level, since the 1053 AD event at a rate of 4.8 mm/a. This uplift is strong evidence that strain …

The Sedimentary Record Of Eocene Deformation In The Interior Of The Southern Canadian Cordillera, Erica May Rubino

Theses and Dissertations

Eocene sedimentary strata exposed in the interior of the southern Canadian Cordillera (SCC) in British Columbia (BC) and northernmost Washington (WA) record a poorly understood history of extension-related deformation in the hinterland of the orogen. Today these strata are exposed in isolated, distinct outcrop belts, although the nature of the original basin(s) is unknown. We examined 650 m of Eocene strata, analyzed 2,995 detrital zircons for uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages, and measured 67 detrital zircons for Hf isotope systematics in an effort to better understand the physiography of the SCC during this time period. Eocene strata consist of clast- and matrix-supported …

Re-Evaluation Of The Extent And Tectonic History Of The Helena Banks Fault Zone, Offshore South Carolina, Ahmet Postaagasi

Theses and Dissertations

The Helena Banks Fault Zone (HBFZ), first identified in the early 1980’s offshore Charleston, S.C., was originally interpreted to be a major, high-angle, basin-bounding normal fault associated with Mesozoic rifting. Subsequent work suggests that (1) Mesozoic rift basins are not present on the continental shelf of South Carolina, (2) the HBFZ originated as a strike-slip fault within Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Suwannee Basin sequence, (3) a mafic intrusion inferred from aeromagnetic data is coincident with a broadly circular zone of highly-complex faulting along the north-eastward continuation of the HBFZ where (4) up to 300 m of local relief can …

Comparing Source Rock Maturity With Pore Size Distribution And Fluid Saturation In The Bakken-Three Forks Petroleum System, Williston Basin, North Dakota, Adedoyin Suleman Adeyilola

Theses and Dissertations

With the continuous demand for fossil fuel and advancement in technology, the unconventional petroleum resources have come into limelight. The Devonian Three Forks Formation consisting of carbonate and clastic sediments is an unconventional oil accumulation

containing about 3.73 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. However, understanding rock properties of the various lithofacies and fluid saturation is still challenging.

The petroleum prospectivity was evaluated by integrating organic maturity and hydrocarbon generation with porosity distribution and fluid saturation in the Ambrose field and adjacent fields. The organic maturity was done with a programmed pyrolysis analysis (Source

Rock Analyzer) using samples taken at …

Salt Tectonism In The Carolina Trough, Ceren Postaagasi

Theses and Dissertations

The Carolina Trough is a major linear sedimentary basin along the eastern continental margin of North America which formed as a result of tectonic and thermal subsidence during continental rifting in Mesozoic time (Hutchinson et al., 1982). The Carolina Trough is unique along the southeastern U.S. margin where the only known evaporite deposits are found, and this salt basin may reserve large amounts of oil and gas (Carpenter & Amato, 1992). Therefore, analysis of 2D multichannel seismic reflection surveys that were conducted in the Mid-South Atlantic Ocean in 1982 plays an important role in Petroleum industry. In addition, current interpretations …

Organic Acids And Amino Acids In Serpentinization Related Fluids From The Atlantis Massif, Nicholas Camper

Theses and Dissertations

Serpentinization is a low temperature, low pressure process that occurs when water reacts with ultramafic rocks. Fluids that have interacted with serpentinites have elevated concentrations of hydrogen and reduced carbon species that can fuel chemolithoautotrophy. International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 357 drilled a series of boreholes into the Atlantis Massif with the goal of investigating how serpentinization impacts carbon cycling and sustains life in the subseafloor. Bottom water samples (CTD), fluids flushed from the boreholes during drilling (Rock Drill), and fluids that were trapped in the liners of the cores (Liner fluids) were collected. The changes and distributions of organic …

The Impact Of Upland Development And Marsh Width On Groundwater Composition In Estuarine Tidal Creeks In The Southeastern Coastal United States, Meghan Shanahan

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal upland development has been shown to negatively impact surface water quality in tidal creeks along the southeastern coastal United States, but the impact of development on groundwater quality is not well understood. Increases in impervious cover associated with development has the potential to increase groundwater contamination as well as reduce fresh rainwater infiltration into the subsurface, which may decrease discharge of fresh groundwater to the estuary. We hypothesized that groundwater nutrient concentrations and salinity ranges would be higher in developed watersheds than in undeveloped watersheds.

Groundwater discharging from coastal uplands often travels through salt marshes before discharging to tidal …

Assessment Of Upper Cretaceous Strata For Offshore Co2 Storage: Southeastern United States, Khaled F. Almutairi

Theses and Dissertations

This is the first assessment of Upper Cretaceous strata for offshore CO2 storage resources in the southeastern United States outer continental shelf. This research focuses on Upper Cretaceous geological units using legacy industry 2-D seismic reflection and well data. It provides an integrated description and reliable subsurface evaluation of Upper Cretaceous potential storage reservoirs. In addition, it provides a detailed evaluation on how rock porosities and permeabilities are distributed across the Upper Cretaceous strata restricted to the South Georgia Embayment (SGE). Structure and thickness (isochore) maps were generated for the main potential reservoirs and seals on a regional and local …

Linear Dune Morphometrics In Titan’S Belet Sand Sea And A Comparison With The Namib Sand Sea, Corbin Robert Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Despite atmospheric and compositional differences on Titan and Earth, the similarity in the shape and spacing of linear dunes of the Belet Sand Sea of Titan and the Namib Sand Sea of Earth suggests that comparisons will yield a better understanding of the dictating factors of duneforming processes. We present a methodology for the collection of dune width and spacing measurements representative of the Namib and Belet sand seas. 94,304 locations in Belet from Cassini SAR images and 5,563 locations in the Namib from IKONOS images are used for measurements. The average width and spacing of linear dunes in Belet …