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Oliver Ranch Science School Complex & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Final Close-Out Report, Margaret N. Rees

Oliver Ranch Project

“The mission of the Red Rock Desert Learning Center is to instill stewardship and respect by increasing knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystems and cultures through a unique experiential discovery program.”

A New View Of Ridge Segmentation And Near-Axis Volcanism At The East Pacific Rise, 8˚–12˚N, From Em300 Multibeam Bathymetry, Scott M. White, Rachel M. Haymon, S M. Carbotte

Faculty Publications

New, high-resolution bathymetry for the East Pacific Rise between 8˚N and 12˚N was collected over a6 km wide swath centered on the ridge axis using the 30 kHz Simrad EM300 multibeam system. Thecoverage area corresponds latitudinally to the designated Ridge2000 Integrated Studies Site (ISS) for fastspreading ridges. The EM300 data, gridded at 30 m latitude by 50 m longitude, represent a greater than 4Ximprovement in horizontal resolution over previously available multibeam data and a 2X improvement indepth resolution. The new bathymetry was used to update the locations and hierarchy of ridge offsets forthis area. Among the many applications for this …

Responses Of Pond-Breeding Amphibians To Wildfire: Short-Term Patterns In Occupancy And Colonization, Blake R. Hossack, Paul Stephen Corn

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Wildland fires are expected to become more frequent and severe in many ecosystems, potentially posing a threat to many sensitive species. We evaluated the effects of a large, stand-replacement wildfire on three species of pond-breeding amphibians by estimating changes in occupancy of breeding sites during the three years before and after the fire burned 42 of 83 previously surveyed wetlands. Annual occupancy and colonization for each species was estimated using recently developed models that incorporate detection probabilities to provide unbiased parameter estimates. We did not find negative effects of the fire on the occupancy or colonization rates of the long-toed …

Fate Of Fish Production In A Seasonally Flooded Saltmarsh, Philip W. Stevens, Clay L. Montague, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Although saltmarshes are thought to enhance the productivity of open estuarine water, the mechanism by which energy transfer occurs has been debated for decades. One possible mechanism is the transfer of saltmarsh production to estuarine waters by vagile fishes and invertebrates. Monthly estimates of fish standing stock, net fish ingress, and predation were used to develop a bio-mass budget to estimates annual production of fishes and the relative yield to predatory fish, birds, and direct migration to the estuary. Annual production of saltmarsh fishes was estimated to 31.0 gm^-2 saltmarsh, which falls within the range of previously reported values …

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Cores From Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru During The Last 13,000 Years, Sherilyn C. Fritz, P. A. Baker, P. Tapia, J. Garland

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We compared the stratigraphy of sediment cores that span the last 13,000 yrs from three sites in the main basin of Lake Titicaca, Boliva/Peru as indicators of regional paleoclimate. The cores show similar patterns of change after ~6,400 calendar yrs before present (cal yr BP) but differ before that time. Site NE98-PC2, which is near the Rio Illave and its delta, shows differences in diatom species composition and in calcium carbonate concentrations relative to cores from the other two sites, particularly during times of inferred high precipitation. In contrast, the carbon isotopic stratigraphy of the three sites is relatively similar. …

The Aeolian Flux Of Calcium, Chloride And Nitrate To The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys Landscape: Evidence From Snow Pit Analysis, Rebecca A. Witherow, W. Berry Lyons, Nancy A.N. Bertler, Kathleen A. Welch, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Sharon B. Sneed, Thomas Nylen, Michael J. Handley, Andrew Fountain

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

We have determined the flux of calcium, chloride and nitrate to the McMurdo Dry Valleys region by analysing snow pits for their chemical composition and their snow accumulation using multiple records spanning up to 48 years. The fluxes demonstrate patterns related to elevation and proximity to the ocean. In general, there is a strong relationship between the nitrate flux and snow accumulation, indicating that precipitation rates may have a great influence over the nitrogen concentrations in the soils of the valleys. Aeolian dust transport plays an important role in the deposition of some elements (e.g. C(2+)) into the McMurdo Dry …

The Effects Of Joint Enso-Antarctic Oscillation Forcing On The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Nancy A.N. Bertler, T. R. Naish, H. Oerter, S. Kipfstuhl, P. J. Barrett, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Karl J. Kreutz

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Stable oxygen analyses and snow accumulation rates from snow pits sampled in the McMurdo Dry Valleys have been used to reconstruct variations in summer temperature and moisture availability over the last four decades. The temperature data show a common interannual variability, with strong regional warmings occurring especially in 1984/85, 1995/96 and 1990/91 and profound coolings during 1977/78, 1983/84, 1988/89, 1993/94, and 1996/97. Annual snow accumulation shows a larger variance between sites, but the early 1970s, 1984, 1997, and to a lesser degree 1990/91 are characterized overall by wetter conditions, while the early and late 1980s show low snow accumulation values. …

Geosciences Newsletter - 2006, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 2, No. 2

• Mohamed Sultan, Chairperson
• Faculty News
• Department News
• Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE)
• Department Updates
• Graduate Student News
• Awards & Graduations
• Alumni News
• Outstanding Alumni Academy
• Dedication Ceremony Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE) New Faces in the Geosciences

An Ocean View Of The Early Cenozoic Greenhouse World, Ellen Thomas, Henk Brinkhuis, Matthew Huber, Ursula Röhl

Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Linear Modulation Osl Study Of The Unstable Ultrafast Component In Samples From Glacial Lake Hitchcock, Massachusetts, Usa, R. J. Goble, Tammy M. Rittenour

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Optical ages were determined for samples from delta and sand dune deposits associated with Glacial Lake Hitchcock near Amherst, Massachusetts using the single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique. However, a strong unstable ultrafast component caused initial rejection of data from a large proportion of aliquots. A linearly modulated blue OSL (LM-OSL) study was undertaken on the sample with the strongest ultrafast component, with the data modelled using the equation of Bulur et al. (2000) as 5 fast, medium and slow components, and 1 ultrafast component.

The ultrafast component dominates the LM–OSL, almost completely obscuring the fast component. …

Assessment Of Atrazine In A Rural Water Source: Rough River Lake, Kentucky, Scotty Sharp

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Atrazine [2-chloro- 4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-l,3,5-triazine], a widely used herbicide in US corn production, impacts quality of drinking water for many rural water supply systems. Four systems at Rough River Lake, Kentucky, have had high levels of atrazine in raw water and in some cases finished water that have exceeded the legal limit of 3 parts per billion (ppb). The Rough River Lake watershed is 1,700-km2, much of which is located in limestone karst. A hypothesis was developed stating that there would be higher concentrations of atrazine in the northeast section of the Rough River Watershed, located in Hardin County, due to the …

Flash Flooding In Eastern Kentucky: An Analysis Of The 3-4 August 2001 Event, Christina Henry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Limited research exists concerning flash flooding in the United States. However, flash floods can occur anywhere and cause more fatalities than any other weather related natural disaster. Eastern Kentucky experienced an average of 41 flash floods per year (1993-2002), yet little research exists for this region. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis of the particularly devastating flash flood event of 3-4 August 2001, which resulted in $15 million worth of property damage and two deaths. Previous studies indicate that flash floods typically occur under relatively 'benign' conditions, the most common characteristics being a quasi-stationary system and high atmospheric moisture. The …

Identification, Characterization And Analysis Of Wrench Related Faulting In Southwestern Warren County, Kentucky, Joseph Islas

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Warren County, Kentucky is located south of the southern boundary of the Rough Creek Graben marked by the Pennyrile fault system. The Pennyrile fault system is a regional southwest-northeast trending fault system that extends into Kentucky from the Reelfoot rift zone. The Rough Creek fault system bounds the northern arm of the Rough Creek Graben and trends northwest-southeast also extending from the Reelfoot rift zone. The Rough Creek fault system is related to the Shawneetown fault system in southeastern Illinois and occupies the southern end of the Illinois Basin. The East Continent Rift Basin intersects the Rough Creek Graben near …

Issues During The Inversion Of Crosshole Radar Data: Can We Have Confidence In The Outcome?, William P. Clement

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

One method of assessing the confidence in modeled features is to compare the results from different inversion schemes. I use synthetic traveltimes calculated from a model of an unconfined aquifer to determine the reliability of crosshole tomography. I compare the inverted models from straight and curved ray approximations to wave propagation. I investigate the effects of added random noise, regularization, the starting model, and the reference model on the curved ray inversion method. I also investigate the effects of different grid sizes for the forward model and of limited ray coverage through the earth model. Understanding the effects of these …

Marine Sediment Record From The East Antarctic Margin Reveals Dynamics Of Ice Sheet Recession, Amy Leventer, Eugene Domack, Jennifer Pike, Catherine Stickley, Eleanor Maddison, Stefanie A. Brachfeld, Patricia Manley, Charlie Mcclennen

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Antarctic shelf is traversed by large-scale troughs developed by glacial erosion. Swath bathymetric, lithologic, and chronologic data from jumbo piston cores from four sites along the East Antarctic margin (Iceberg Alley, the Nielsen Basin, the Svenner Channel, and the Mertz-Ninnis Trough) are used to demonstrate that these cross-shelf features controlled development of calving bay reentrants in the Antarctic ice sheet during deglaciation. At all sites except the Mertz-Ninnis Trough, the transition between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene is characterized by varved couplets deposited during a short interval of extremely high primary productivity in a fjordlike setting. Nearly …

Modeling Soil Erosion In The Upper Green River, Ky, Narcisa Pricope

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Off-site soil erosion has tremendous impacts on the present state of most river systems throughout the United States, contributing sediments to channels mainly as nonpoint pollution resulting from land-use and agricultural practices and leading to sedimentation downstream and downwind, a decrease in the transport capacity of streams, increase in the risk of flooding, filling reservoirs, and eutrophication. A primary focus in examining the problems associated with soil erosion arid ultimately in proposing control measures should be on identifying the sources of the sediment. Therefore, a model that would be able to assess soil erosion needs to start by identifying the …

Tectonic Control Of Subsidence And Southward Displacement Of Southeast Louisiana With Respect To Stable North America, Roy K. Dokka, Giovanni F. Sella, Timothy H. Dixon

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

GPS data collected between 1995 and 2006 suggest that southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans and the larger Mississippi Delta, are both subsiding vertically and moving southward with respect to stable North America. Both motions are likely related due to their common tectonic setting. Subsidence in the New Orleans area occurs in part because it is located in the hanging wall of a large listric normal fault system that forms the northern boundary of a 7–10 km thick allochthon that is detached from stable North America. Southward motion of this allochthon relative to stable North America occurs at 2.2 ± 0.6 …

On The Use Of Modis Evi To Assess Gross Primary Productivity Of North American Ecosystems, Daniel A. Sims, Abdullah Rahman, Vicente D. Cordova, Bassil Z. El-Masri, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Allen H. Goldstein, David Y. Hollinger, Laurent Misson, Russell K. Monson, Walter C. Oechel, Hans P. Schmid, Steven C. Wofsy, Liukang Xu

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

[1] Carbon flux models based on light use efficiency (LUE), such as the MOD17 algorithm, have proved difficult to parameterize because of uncertainties in the LUE term, which is usually estimated from meteorological variables available only at large spatial scales. In search of simpler models based entirely on remote‐sensing data, we examined direct relationships between the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and gross primary productivity (GPP) measured at nine eddy covariance flux tower sites across North America. When data from the winter period of inactive photosynthesis were excluded, the overall relationship between EVI and tower GPP was better than that between …

Satellite Remote Sensing Of Glaciers And Ice Caps In Svalbard, Eurasian High Arctic, Gordon S. Hamilton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Recent compilations of climate-related observations show that important changes are now underway in the High Arctic, probably as a response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions over the last approximately 250 years. These changes include warming of the troposphere, reductions in sea ice cover, decreases in snow cover area, warming of tundra permafrost, and negative mass balances of glaciers and ice caps. In many instances, observations of change are relatively short in duration or sparse in spatial extent. The Principal Investigators will study glacier and ice cap variations over the approximately last 80 years and at a large scale on Svalbard. …

Geostatistical Analysis Of An Experimental Stratigraphy, Y Zhang, M Person, C Paola, C W. Gable, X H. Wen, J M. Davis

Earth Sciences

[1] A high-resolution stratigraphic image of a flume-generated deposit was scaled up to sedimentary basin dimensions where a natural log hydraulic conductivity (ln( K)) was assigned to each pixel on the basis of gray scale and conductivity end-members. The synthetic ln( K) map has mean, variance, and frequency distributions that are comparable to a natural alluvial fan deposit. A geostatistical analysis was conducted on selected regions of this map containing fluvial, fluvial/ floodplain, shoreline, turbidite, and deepwater sedimentary facies. Experimental ln(K) variograms were computed along the major and minor statistical axes and horizontal and vertical coordinate axes. Exponential and power …

Sequential Extraction Of Copper And Zinc From Two Californian Soils, Katharine Carr, Christopher Appel, Craig Stubler, Shana Mccarthy

Earth and Soil Sciences

In order to understand how to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals, it is important to first understand their sorption mechanisms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioavailability of elevated levels of soil copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) via sequential extraction. Elevated levels of Cu and Zn were added separately and concurrently to a Mollisol and an Entisol from the central coast of California. The exchangeable amount of Cu and Zn was then extracted from the sorbed amount via 0.1 M NaNO₃. The residual fraction was then extracted with 0.1 M sodium citrate (NaC_{6 …}

Total And Bioavailable Chromium Along A Toposequence In San Luis Obispo, Ca., Britani Harris, Christopher Appel, Craig Stubler, Arwen Ross, Maribel Alvarado, Katharine Carr, Byron Clamor, Lauren Corkins, Scott Grandi-Hill, Walter Levicki, Michael Wagoner, Ryan Tappero

Earth and Soil Sciences

The presence of large quantities of Chromium metal in soil and plants is of major concern due to its toxicity to humans. Total (USEPA 3050a) and bioavailable (USEPA 1311) levels of chromium were measured along a serpentinic Central Coast toposequence. Soil from the surface and subsurface, as well as the above ground plants of the toposequence were determined and compared to several soil chemical and physical properties using a least squares regression. The binding environments and oxidation states were found through XANES and EXAFS x-ray spectroscopies. The total and bioavailable chromium concentrations of the soil averaged 1457.1 and 1.6 mg …

Collaborative Research: The Tectonothermal Evolution Of A Convergent Orogen, Scott E. Johnson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Understanding of orogenesis and its relations to mantle convection and plate tectonics relies on integrated studies of the interrelations among processes of deformation, metamorphism and magmatism. A well preserved portion of the northern Appalachian orogen is providing an outstanding laboratory for a truly integrative study of the evolution of mid-crustal processes that strongly influence orogenesis. This project is employing structural, microstructural, petrologic and thermobarometric analyses, and chemical and isotopic dating, to temporally and spatially link deformation, metamorphism and magmatism during the progressive growth of this orogenic belt. This information is being used to set constraints and boundary conditions on coupled, …

Subtidal Inner Shelf Currents Off Cartagena De Indias, Caribbean Coast Of Colombia, Mauro Maza, George Voulgaris, Bulusu Subrahmanyam

Faculty Publications

Seasonal trends in inner shelf subtidal circulation off the coast of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, are examined through the analysis of current profiles, hydrographic, meteorological and satellite data collected from 1999 to 2002. During the dry season (December–April) the water column is well-mixed and along-shelf currents flow southwestward following the steady trade winds. In the rainy season (May –November) the water column experiences continuous events of stratification and the along-shelf currents flow northeastward, opposing the weak southwestward winds. In the dry season the along shelfcirculation is mostly driven by wind forcing, while in the rainy season, the circulation is set …

Seasonal Variation In The Stable Isotopic Composition Of Precipitation In The Tropical Montane Forests Of Monteverde, Costa Rica, Amy L. Rhodes, Andrew J. Guswa, Silvia E. Newell

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Climate and land use change may diminish orographic clouds over tropical montane forests, stressing biota and water resources during dry seasons. From 2003 to 2005 we measured the stable isotopic composition of precipitation and throughfall in Monteverde, Costa Rica, to distinguish convective, wet season rainfall associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) from dry season, orographic rain produced by northeasterly trade winds. While event-to-event fluctuations of δ18O and δ2H are high, monthly samples reveal a seasonal signal that may be used to trace water through the hydrologic cycle. Deuterium excess indicates that water evaporated from land is an important flux …

A Preliminary Study Of Sulfide Mineral Formation In Methane-Rich, Marine Sediments Associated With Anaerobic Methane Oxidation, Cascadia Continental Margin, Offshore Oregon, David Deigert, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Within gas hydrate settings, sulfide mineralization in marine sediments is likely controlled by two microbially-mediated, sulfate-depleting processes: anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) and sulfate reduction. If large amounts of methane are delivered to the sulfate-methane interface (SMI), predominantly by diffusion, larger amounts of solid sulfide sulfur should occur there as dissolved sulfide combines with iron, forming an authigenic precipitate. We measure the amount of diagenetic sulfide sulfur at three locations in the Hydrate Ridge vicinity by extracting the bulk sedimentary sulfide-phase minerals (S^o, FeS, and FeS₂) through chromium reduction, precipitating sulfide sulfur as silver sulfide, and gravimetrically …

Preliminary Results Of A Nutrient Source Study In Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Walter S. Borowski, Erin C. Jolly

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake (Madison County, Kentucky) is an eutrophic lake formed by damming Taylor Fork, part of the Silver Creek watershed. Two principal tributaries drain urban areas of the city of Richmond, agricultural land typified by cattle grazing, and a high-density residential area using septic systems. The lake is “nutrient impaired,” so it is likely that anthropogenic nutrient loading is affecting water quality. Our study aims to first characterize the physical characteristics and water quality of the lake (2006), and then determine the specific proportion of nutrient inputs (2007) to the lake with the aim of remediating any possible degradation of …

Mantle Transition Zone Discontinuities Beneath The Baikal Rift And Adjacent Areas, Kelly H. Liu, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Like most other major continental rifts, the Baikal rift zone (BRZ) in Siberia is presumably underlain by a hot and partially molten mantle, which has a reduced seismic velocity relative to surrounding areas. Recent seismic tomography studies, however, gave conflicting results about the depth extent and even the existence of the low-velocity anomaly beneath the BRZ, suggesting that additional constraints are needed. Here we present results from stacking of about 1700 radial P-to-S receiver functions from a single long-running seismic station, TLY, located at the SW tip of Lake Baikal. A clear uplift of the 410 km discontinuity (d410) with …

Improving Database Quality Through Eliminating Duplicate Records, Mingzhen Wei, Andrew H. Sung, Martha E. Cather

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Redundant or duplicate data are the most troublesome problem in database management and applications. Approximate field matching is the key solution to resolve the problem by identifying semantically equivalent string values in syntactically different representations. This paper considers token-based solutions and proposes a general field matching framework to generalize the field matching problem in different domains. By introducing a concept of String Matching Points (SMP) in string comparison, string matching accuracy and efficiency are improved, compared with other commonly-applied field matching algorithms. The paper discusses the development of field matching algorithms from the developed general framework. The framework and corresponding …

Water Resources And Geologic Field Trip In York And Seward Counties, Nebraska, Michael J. Jess, Mark Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.