Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Characterization And Quantification Of Ground Heat Flux For Late Season Shallow Snow, Aurele Lamontagne

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Increasing populations, rapid land use changes, and climate change in mountainous areas have stressed water resources and reduced available water from snowpacks. In anticipation of warmer temperatures, receding snowlines, and increasing water demands, water managers will need detailed snowmelt energy and water balance information from the margin as transitional snow replaces deeper snowpacks. Patchy shallow snow, found at transitional snow elevations, has a distinct energy balance that includes local advection and short wave radiation penetration of snow less than 10 cm deep. Solar penetration to the soil surface provides a heat source that can be absorbed by the soil and …

Internal Structure And Geochronology Of The Gerrei Unit In The Flumendosa Area, Variscan External Nappe Zone, Sardinia, Italy, Ashley V. Dack

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

To investigate the stratigraphy and structural evolution of the Variscan Orogen of the External Nappe Zone, Sardinia, Italy, field work and geochronologic analyses were combined to assess both regional and orogen scale issues. Geologic mapping, structural analysis, and sampling in the Flumendosa area coupled with high-precision U-Pb zircon geochronology were used to determine the duration of Ordovician magmatic activity and the structural evolution of the Variscan Orogen.

To constrain the duration of magmatism for the Flumendosa area, U-Pb ID/TIMS zircon analyses were performed on samples from a lower volcanic flow of the Ordovician Volcanic Unit and an upper, syn to …

Numerical Modeling Of Time-Lapse Seismic Experiments To Monitor Co2 Sequestration In A Layered Basalt Reservoir, Murari Khatiwada

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Instead of allowing carbon dioxide (CO₂) generated from the burning of hydrocarbons to escape into the atmosphere, CO₂ can be captured and stored. For the long term mitigation of the increasing amount of CO₂ emissions, its sequestration in geological formations is promising. As a measure, its short and long term monitoring is equally important for environmental and health safety issues. The seismic method is proposed as a non-invasive monitoring technique for geological sequestration of CO₂. Based on the positive results obtained from reservoir monitoring during enhanced oil recovery with CO₂ floods, geoscientists plan …

Holocene Fire And Climate In Rangeland Ecosystems Of Southwestern Idaho, Nathan Alfred Nelson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Because rangelands are characterized by more arid climates than forested regions, traditional methods of reconstructing fire histories (e.g. fire-scars from trees or charcoal preserved in lake sediments) are limited. Charcoal preserved in alluvial fans and stream terraces provide a means of reconstructing a record of fires and geomorphic responses in rangeland ecosystems.

This study used dated charcoal from fire-related deposits and deposit characteristics to determine a record of fire and geomorphic response. Twenty-five samples collected from terraces and alluvial fans within the Wood Creek study area indicate three major periods of fire-related activity. From 4,400 – 4,000 cal yr BP, …