Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of Nebraska And Parts Of Adjacent States, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Anne P. Diffendal

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark undertook their journey with the Corps of Discovery in 1804–1806 in order to explore the area that the United States had purchased from France in 1803. Then known as Louisiana, this region included almost everything west of the Mississippi to the continental divide (illustrated below). In order to find the best route across the continent, President Thomas Jefferson charged Lewis to follow the Missouri River to its headwaters and then locate rivers flowing down the west side of the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and into the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson's written instructions further specified …

Where Are The Women Geoscientist Professors?, Mary Anne Holmes, Suzanne O'Connell

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nearly 50 geo- and social scientists recently gathered for a workshop on women in the geosciences. The two-fold purpose was to compile data on the status of women in the geosciences, and to arrive at a consensus on strategies to increase the proportion of women and their diversity in the field. The Workshop on Women in the Geosciences was held September 25-27, 2003, in Washington, D.C.

Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene …

Leaf And Wood Utilization In The Middle Missouri River, Kim Rager

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

A Modeling Experiment On The Grounding Of An Ice Shelf In The Central Arctic Ocean During Mis 6, Martin Jakobsson, M Siegert, Mark Paton

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

High-resolution chirp sonar subbottom profiles from the Lomonosov Ridge in the central Arctic Ocean, acquired from the Swedish icebreaker Oden in 1996, revealed large-scale erosion of the ridge crest down to depths of 1000 m below present sea level [Jakobsson, 1999]. Subsequent acoustic mapping during the SCICEX nuclear submarine expedition in 1999 showed glacial fluting at the deepest eroded areas and subparallel ice scours from 950 m water depth to the shallowest parts of the ridge crest [Polyak et al., 2001]. The directions of the mapped glaciogenic bed-forms and the redeposition of eroded material on the Amerasian side of the …

Surface "Waves" On Byrd Glacier, Antarctica, D. Reusch, Terence J. Hughes

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Byrd Glacier has one of the largest ice catchment areas in Antarctica, delivers more ice to the Ross Ice Shelf than any other ice stream, and is the fastest of these ice streams. A force balance, combined with a mass balance, demonstrates that stream flow in Byrd Glacier is transitional from sheet flow in East Antarctica to shelf flow in the Ross Ice Shelf. The longitudinal pulling stress, calculated along an ice flowband from the force balance, is linked to variations of ice thickness, to the ratio of the basal water pressure to the ice overburden pressure where Byrd Glacier …

Chemical And Toxicological Characterization Of The Lower Mobjack Bay, York River, Virginia Segment Of The Chesapeake Bay, Morris H. Roberts Jr., Mark A. Richards, Peter F. Delisle

Reports

The Chesapeake Bay segment called Lower Mobjack Bay Lower York River Virginia was found to have insufficient data to characterize in 1999. Therefore this area was selected for a chemical, toxicological, benthic community characterization study of the sediments in 2002. The segment was divided into 3 strata: the lower York River, the Poquoson River, and Back River, each with 4 randomly selected stations. Samples were collected in October 2002 for evaluation of conditions.

There were few significant chemical exceedances of the ER-L or ER-M in the three strata and no toxicologically effects from exposure to sediment samples from any stratum. …

Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of The Great Plains, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Anne P. Diffendal

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark undertook their journey with the Corps of Discovery in 1804-1806 in order to explore the area that the United States had purchased from France in 1803. Then known as Louisiana, this region included almost everything west of the Mississippi to the continental divide. In order to find the best route across the continent, President Thomas Jefferson charged Lewis with following the Missouri River to its headwaters and then locating rivers flowing down the west side of the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and into the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson's written instructions further specified that the …

Groundwater Test Pumping In The Tambellup Townsite, Louise Hopgood

Resource management technical reports

Previous studies have concluded that the township of Tambellup is underlain by a perched aquifer. Test pumping and groundwater modelling indicated that groundwater pumping may be an effective way of protecting townsite infrastructure by lowering the water table beneath the town. This report presents results of the test pumping and provides likely bore yields, prediction of pumping influence and likely optimum production bore spacing.

New Studies Initiated By The U.S. Geological Survey— Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On Stream Ecosystems, Mark D. Munn, Pixie A. Hamilton

Publications of the US Geological Survey

In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program began an intensive study of nutrient enrichment—elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus— in streams in five agricultural basins across the Nation (see map, p. 2). This study is providing nationally consistent and comparable data and analyses of nutrient conditions, including how these conditions vary as a result of natural and human-related factors, and how nutrient conditions affect algae and other biological communities. This information will benefit stakeholders, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and its partners, who are developing nutrient criteria to protect the aquatic health of streams …

Using Spreadsheets In Geoscience Education: Survey And Annotated Bibliography Of Articles In The Journal Of Geoscience Education Through 2003, Beth Fratesi, H. L. Vacher

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Thirty-eight papers published in the Journal of Geoscience Education ( JGE) from 1989 through 2003 explicitly use or recommend the use of spreadsheets as part of classroom or field exercises, projects, or entire courses. Many of the papers include the spreadsheets, and some include the equations. The papers demonstrate how spreadsheets allow students to explore a subject through problem-oriented, interactive, and quantitative exercises. We provide an annotated bibliography and classify the 38 JGE papers by spreadsheet use, mathematics skill area, and geologic subdiscipline. Our discussion of five selected articles — abundance of elements in the Earth’s crust; directional properties of …

Current Perspectives On Energy And Mass Fluxes In Volcanic Arcs, William Leeman, Jon Davidson, Tobias Fischer, Anita Grunder, Mark Reagan, Martin J. Streck

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Volcanoes of the Pacific Ring of Fire and other convergent margins worldwide are familiar manifestations of nature's energy, account for about 25% of global volcanic outputs, dominate volcanic gas emissions to the atmosphere, and pose significant physical threats to a large human population. Yet the processes behind this prolific activity remain poorly understood.

An international "State of the Arc" (SOTA) conference was held in August on the slopes of Mt. Hood, Oregon, to address current views on the energy and mass fluxes in volcanic arcs. This meeting brought together some 90 leading experts and students of subduction zones and their …

Ams Radiocarbon Chronology Of Glacier Fluctuations In The South Shetland Islands During The Last Glacial/Interglacial Hemicycle:Implications For Global Climate Change, Brenda L. Hall

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award supports a two year program to produce a new reconstruction of ice extent, elevation and thickness at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) for the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula. One field season on Livingston Island will involve mapping the areal extent and geomorphology of glacial drift and determining the elevation and distribution of trimlines. In addition, ice flow direction will be determined by mapping and measuring the elevation of erosional features and the position of erratic boulders. One of the main goals of this work will be to demonstrate whether or not organic material suitable for …

Extension And Partitioning In An Oblique Subduction Zone, New Zealand: Constraints From Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling, Phaedra Upton, Peter O. Koons, Donna Eberhart-Phillips

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Contraction, strike slip, and extension displacements along the Hikurangi margin northeast of the North Island of New Zealand coincide with large lateral gradients in material properties. We use a finite- difference code utilizing elastic and elastic-plastic rheologies to build large- scale, three-dimensional numerical models which investigate the influence of material properties on velocity partitioning within oblique subduction zones. Rheological variation in the oblique models is constrained by seismic velocity and attenuation information available for the Hikurangi margin. We compare the effect of weakly versus strongly coupled subduction interfaces on the development of extension and the partitioning of velocity components for …

Geometrical Force Balance In Glaciology, Terence J. Hughes

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The analytical force balance traditionally used in glaciology relates gravitational forcing to ice surface slope for sheet flow and to ice basal buoyancy for shelf flow. It is unable to represent stream flow as a transition from sheet flow to shelf flow by having gravitational forcing gradually passing from being driven by surface slope to being driven by basal buoyancy downslope along the length of an ice steam. This is a serious defect, because ice streams discharge up to 90% of ice from ice sheets into the sea. The defect is overcome by using a geometrical force balance that includes …

Support For The Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program, Irene Farnham, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This final report details the activities completed for Task 8 of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) Cooperative Agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE). Task 8, titled "Support for the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program" provided for a variety of hydrochemical analyses. The requirements of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) Quality Assurance (QA) Program were followed for all work performed on this task. The primary activity performed by the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (HRC) for Task 8 was to provide hydrochemical analyses of the groundwater samples collected from …

Understanding The Mechanisms Of Lead, Copper, And Zinc Retention By Phosphate Rock, R. X. Cao, L. Q. Ma, R. D. Rhue, C. S. Appel

Earth and Soil Sciences

The solid-liquid interface reaction between phosphate rock (PR) and metals (Pb, Cu, and Zn)was studied. Phosphate rock has the highest affinity for Pb, followed by Cu and Zn, with sorption capacities of 131, 114, and 83.2 mmol kg-1 PR, respectively. In the Pb-Cu-Zn ternary system, competitive metal sorption occurred with sorption capacity reduction of 15.2%, 48.3%, and 75.6% for Pb, Cu, and Zn, respectively. A fractional factorial design showed the interfering effect in the order of Pb>Cu>Zn. Desorption of Cu and Zn was sensitive to pH change, increasing with pH decline, whereas Pb desorption was decreased with a …

Cal Poly's Eswcc Teaches The Next Generation Of Soil Scientists, M. Perry, C. Appel

Earth and Soil Sciences

Since 1992, members of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Earth, Soil, and Water Conservation Club (ESWCC), sponsored by the MESA Agricultural Initiative, have volunteered their time and expertise to educate middle-school students in soil science. ESWCC members assemble soil testing kits containing three soils, pH testing materials, and instructions for analyzing soil pore space, water infiltration rates, and soil texture by “feel”. The kits help over 200 California teachers convey the importance of soil science through simple physical and chemical procedures that provide a deeper understanding of soil. ESWCC members train teachers to run classroom experiments and to relate soil …

Geosciences Newsletter- 2003, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 1, No. 28

• Dear Alumni and Friends
• Faculty News
• Department News
• Awards and Graduations
• Alumni News
• Field Trips
• Donations

Mantle Layering Across Central South America, Kelly H. Liu, Stephen S. Gao, Paul G. Silver, Yongkai K. Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Imaging of seismic velocity discontinuities along a 3000 km profile across central South America at 20°S suggests that the depth variations of the 410-km (d410) and 660-km (d660) discontinuities are closely associated with the high-velocity Nazca slab and juxtaposed low-velocity oceanic mantle beneath the slab. The mantle transition zone thickness ranges from 220 km in the oceanic mantle to 270 km in a 600-km-wide area occupied by the deflected Nazca slab. The slab deflection has also been suggested by previous studies of seismic tomography and seismicity. This 50 km difference in the thickness corresponds to a lateral temperature variation of …

Sulfide Mineralization In Deep-Water Marine Sediments Related To Methane Transport, Methane Consumption, And Methane Gas Hydrates, Matthew K. Thompson, Walter S. Borowski, Charles K. Paull, William Ussler Iii

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Patterns of sulfide sulfur concentration and sulfur isotopic composition (d³⁴S) are perhaps related to upward methane transport, especially in sediments underlain by methane gas hydrate deposits. Increased methane delivery augments the affect of anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) occurring at the sulfate-methane interface (SMI). Sulfate and methane co-consumption results in production of dissolved sulfide at the interface that is eventually sequestered within sulfide minerals (elemental sulfur, iron monosulfide, pyrite).

We examine the sediments of two piston cores collected over the Blake Ridge gas hydrate deposits (offshore southeastern North America) by extracting total sedimentary sulfide using chromium reduction. We use …

Groundwater Investigation On Victoria Location 8565, East Binnu, Russell John Speed

Resource management technical reports

Describes a drilling investigation undertaken for the East Binnu area within Victoria location 8565, Western Australia. Groundwater monitoring bores were installed to assess the risk of dryland salinity developing if after clearance of native vegetation, the area is used to grow annual crops and pastures. The investigation confirmed that the risk of further salinity development in this location is extreme.

Field-Scale Estimation Of Volumetric Water Content Using Ground-Penetrating Radar Ground Wave Techniques, Katherine R. Grote, Susan Sharpless Hubbard, Yoram N. Rubin

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) ground wave techniques were applied to estimate soil water content in the uppermost ∼10 cm of a 3 acre California vineyard several times over 1 year. We collected densely spaced GPR travel time measurements using 900 and 450 MHz antennas and analyzed these data to estimate water content. The spatial distribution of water content across the vineyard did not change significantly with time, although the absolute water content values varied seasonally and with irrigation. The GPR estimates of water content were compared to gravimetric water content, time domain reflectometry, and soil texture measurements. The comparisons of GPR-derived …

Using Cesium 137 To Understand Recent In Cave Sedimentation In The Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska, William Curry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Removal of vegetation and subsequent erosion in karst regions such as central Kentucky or southeastern Alaska often leads to increased sedimentation in karst features such as caves and dolines. This sedimentation can impact the ground water by altering flow paths and the bio-geochemistry of the karst aquifer itself. Various methodologies have been used to obtain quantitative erosion and sedimentation rates for surface areas in karst and non-karst settings, but few quantitative studies have taken place in caves. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of timber harvesting and development upon the caves and karst of southeastern Alaska …

Ancient Maize From Chacoan Great Houses: Where Was It Grown?, Larry Benson, Linda Cordell, Kirk Vincent, Howard E. Taylor, John Stein, G. Lang Farmer, U.S. Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In this article, we compare chemical (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and elemental) analyses of archaeological maize from dated contexts within Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, to potential agricultural sites on the periphery of the San Juan Basin. The oldest maize analyzed from Pueblo Bonito probably was grown in an area located 80 km to the west at the base of the Chuska Mountains. The youngest maize came from the San Juan or Animas river floodplains 90 km to the north. This article demonstrates that maize, a dietary staple of southwestern Native Americans, was transported over considerable distances in …

Late-Holocene Lake-Level Variation In West Greenland, Frank A. Aebly, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Situated between the North Atlantic and the Greenland ice sheet, the thousands of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of West Greenland (67°N) present excellent targets for paleoclimate studies. Paleoshorelines surrounding multiple closed-basin lakes in this area record fluctuations in lake level since deglaciation. Shorelines along two of these lakes, Hundeso and Lake E, were surveyed and trenched to reconstruct the history of lake-level change. The stratigraphies of the trenches were described, and a chronology has been developed using radiocarbon dating of organic material. Preliminary results indicate a highly variable hydrologic regime throughout the late Holocene.

Hundeso had high-stand lake levels …

Redox Scale For Assigning An Oxidizing/Reducing Potential To Groundwater: Method Development And Initial Results, Julie Bertoia, Vernon Hodge, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report outlines the progress on Task 33 of the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Cooperative Agreement with the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN). The task is titled "The Experimental Determination of a "Redox Scale" for Assigning an Oxidizing/Reducing Potential to Groundwater from Wells in the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program: A Scale for Predicting the Solubility and Mobility of Elements Commonly Found in Nuclear Wastes". The purpose of the research was to determine the concentrations of the various electrochemical oxidation states or redox species of eleven elements in groundwater samples collected from the Nye County …

The 19th Annual International Conference On Soils, Sediments And Water

Annual Conference on Soils, Sediments and Water: Abstracts

Conference at a Glance Monday, October 20, 2003 Workshops Workshops #1-2: 10:00am – 5:00pm Workshops # 3-4: 1:00 – 5:00pm Workshop # 5: 1:00 – 3:00pm Workshop # 6: 3:00 – 5:00pm Workshop # 1: Theory and Use of Field Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Soil Analysis Workshop # 2: In-Situ Chemical Oxidation Workshop Workshop # 3: TBA/MTBE Remediation Seminar Workshops # 4: A Practical Approach for Assessing Upward Vapor Instrusion Risk Workshop # 5: The Arsenic Nobody Wanted: Now What? A Panel Discussion on Arsenic in Communities Workshop # 6: Implementing the Massachusetts DEP's New Data Enhancement Policy - PRACTICAL …

Integrated Hydrologic And Hydrochemical Observations Of Hidden Creek Lake Jökulhlaups, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, Suzanne P. Anderson, Joseph S. Walder, Robert S. Anderson, Erin R. Kraal, Michelle Cunico, Andrew G. Fountain, Dennis C. Trabant

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hidden Creek Lake (HCL), an ice-marginal lake impounded by Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, fills annually to ~20 to 30 x ~10⁶ m³ and then drains subglacially within 2 to 3 days. During the 1999 and 2000 jökulhlaups, we carried out a series of planned observations around the lake and in the Kennicott River, which drains the glacier. Approximately 20% of the lake volume was contained within a subglacial water ‘‘wedge’’ beneath the ice dam. The entire volume of the lake drains through the wedge; hydraulic head loss through this constriction may be responsible for the fairly symmetrical shape of …

Final Report On Task 12: Southern Great Basin Seismic Network Operations, James N. Brune, David Von Seggern, Ken Smith, Glenn Biasi

Publications (YM)

The Nevada Seismological Laboratory began seismic monitoring operations under the DOE-UCCSN Cooperative Agreement on 11/01/1999. This final report summarizes our activities and studies made in the four years up to 09/30/2003. Previously, NSL operated under the M&O for the Yucca Mountain Project from October 1995 through September 1999 and under the U. S. Geological Survey from October 1992 through September 1995. For purposes of this report, earthquakes occurring in the years FY1998 and FY1999 were analyzed in the first two years of the NSL’s involvement with the Cooperative Agreement, and they will be treated here, along with the data in …