Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tree Ring Dating Of The Ficklin-Imboden Log Structures, Powhatan Historic State Park, Arkansas, Kaylee R. Mcadoo, David W. Stahle

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Powhatan Historic State Park in Powhatan, Arkansas preserves and interprets five historical structures from 19^th century Arkansas, including the Ficklin-Imboden Log House. This structure, which is actually two separate log buildings with uncertain construction dates and functions, is believed to be the earliest surviving structure at Powhatan State Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Powhatan State Park contracted with the University of Arkansas Tree-Ring Laboratory to develop a more accurate dating and interpretation of the log structures.

Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) was used to determine the true felling dates of logs in both buildings. Core specimens …

Optimum Magnetometer Transect Spacing To Locate Legacy Oil And Gas Wells: Preliminary Results, Jason A. Patton, Michael G. Davis, Kenyon J. Gowing, Hunter B. Vickers

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The purpose of this project was to examine the optimum transect spacing to locate legacy oil and gas wells using an Overhauser magnetometer. Widely known to be a potential environmental hazard, legacy oil and gas wells may act as a conduit for methane and/or deeper subsurface fluids (naturally occurring brines, injected waste fluids, or injected CO₂) to the surface or shallow subsurface. Many plugged wells have all surface equipment removed leaving no visible trace at the surface and thus making the environmental assessment of these wells difficult. Using a magnetometer along a set of predefined transects, magnetic anomalies …

Travel To Extraterrestrial Bodies Over Time: Some Exploratory Analyses Of Mission Data, Venkat Kodali, Rohith Kumar Reddy Duggirala, Richard S. Segall, Hyacinthe Aboudja, Daniel Berleant

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

This paper discusses data pertaining to space missions to astronomical bodies beyond earth. The analyses provide summarizing facts and graphs obtained by mining data about (1) missions launched by all countries that go to the moon and planets, and (2) Earth satellites obtained from a Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) dataset and lists of publically available satellite data.

Hydrothermally Emplaced, Lower Mississippian, Tripolitic Chert And Its Possible Relationship To The Tri-State Lead-Zinc Mining District, J. Chick, J. Cains, F. Mcfarlin, S. Mckim, A. Potra

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Across the southern Ozark Region, northern Arkansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma, exposures of the Lower Mississippian Boone Formation and its equivalents exhibit well-developed tripolitic chert that has been mined, more or less continuously, for at least 80 years. The tripolitic chert is a replacement of an interval within the basal portion of the upper Boone Formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and equivalent to the Elsey Formation in Missouri. The movement of silica-rich, hydrothermal fluids appears to have been much like that of a confined aquifer. It followed the basal upper Boone Formation (Arkansas) = Elsey Formation (Missouri) and was …

Lithologic Stratigraphic Position, Sequence And Diagenetic History, Lower Mississippian Tripolitic Chert, Northern Arkansas And Southern Missouri, S. Mckim, J. Cains, J. Chick, F. Mcfarlin, A. Potra

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Tripolitic chert development in the southern Ozark region is associated with a third-order, transgressive-regressive cycle comprising St. Joe transgressive packstones, succeeded by lower Boone calcisiltites, with black, penecontemporaneous, nodular chert deposited during maximum flooding, overlain by basal upper Boone calcisiltites deposited during highstand. The onset of regression produced upper Boone packstones and grainstones with white-gray, later diagenetic chert reflecting groundwater replacement along bedding planes. Tripolitic chert is a product of the highstand calcisiltites at the base of the upper Boone Formation of Arkansas, and its equivalent, the Elsey Formation of southern Missouri. This tripolitic chert appears to reflect a hydrothermal …

Sequence Stratigraphic And Tectono-Stratigraphic Successions, Ozark Shelf, Tri-State Region, Southern Midcontinent, E. C. Bello

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The southern Ozark region, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma occupies the southern border of the North American craton. Its sedimentary succession preserves a complete Wilson Cycle reflecting the Late Precambrian-Cambrian rifting of Rodinia into the Laurussian and Gondwanan landmasses that opened the Iapetus Ocean Basin during the Late Cambrian-Middle Mississippian. The basin was closed during the Late Mississippian-Middle Pennsylvanian by the collision of Laurussia with Gondwana. During the Late Cambrian through the Middle Pennsylvanian, the Ozark Shelf, including its gently sloping, Northern Arkansas Structural Platform (NASP) and adjacent ramp, records both transgression and regression by epeiric seas as well as regional …

Lower Mississippian Chert Development, Southern Midcontinent Region, J. M. Cains, A. Potra, E. D. Pollock

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Lower Mississippian Boone Formation is a chert-bearing, fossiliferous limestone typically 100-115m. thick forming the Springfield Plateau across the tri-state region of northwestern Arkansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. The Boone represents the maximum flooding, highstand, and regressive intervals of a single, third order transgressive-regressive carbonate cycle bounded by regional unconformities. Two types of chert occur in this formation, and provide the basis for subdivision of the Boone into informal lower and upper members in northern Arkansas. The lower Boone represents early Osagean maximum flooding conditions and consists of calcisiltites with interbedded dark, nodular chert. This chert exhibits compaction phenomena …

Early Cementation Of The Short Creek Oolite Member, Boone Formation (Osagean, Lower Mississippian), Northern Arkansas, K. A. Jayne, A. K. Chandler, W. L. Manger

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Short Creek Oolite is the only formally named member of the Boone Formation in northern Arkansas. It lacks bedding features, and oolith concentrations that would suggest a shoal environment, and it occurs at variable stratigraphic horizons within the upper Boone Formation consistent with episodic deposition as grainflow slurries. As with modern oolite examples, such as Joulters Cays, Bahamas, the Short Creek preserves numerous intraclasts, and at least one large olistolith indicating an early cementation history.

Comparison Of The Elemental Geochemistry Of The Arkansas Novaculite And The Boone Chert In Their Type Regions, Arkansas, J. Philbrick, E. Pollock, A. Potra

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The name Arkansas Novaculite was proposed by A.H. Purdue, 1909 to replace the name Arkansas Stone assigned by L. S. Griswold, 1892, but deemed too generic, to an interval of Early Devonian-Early Mississippian, very fine-grained, even textured, siliceous sedimentary rock famous for use as whetstones. The interval is exposed along the margins of the Benton Uplift, south flank of the Ouachita Mountains, west-central Arkansas, where it reaches a maximum thickness of 243.8 m (800 ft). The Arkansas Novaculite comprises informal lower and upper members characterized by massive beds of nearly pure novaculite, separated by a shale-bearing middle member that spans …

Lithologic Character Of The Paleozoic Sandstone Succession, Southern Ozark Region, Arkansas, And Missouri, E. C. Bello

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Sandstones comprise nearly half of the Paleozoic (Upper Cambrian-Middle Pennsylvania) lithostratigraphic succession in the southern Ozark region of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. They record five distinct, but related intervals characterized by 1) Upper Cambrian arkoses resting unconformably on Precambrian granite; 2) Lower Ordovician reworked subarkoses, sublitharentites, and quartzites; 3) Lower Ordovician to Lower Mississippian reworked orthoquartzites; 4) Upper Mississippian first cycle sandstones with few metamorphic rock fragments (mrfs); 5) Lower Pennsylvanian (Morrowan) first cycle sandstones with common mrfs and Middle Pennsylvanian (Atokan) first cycle sandstones with common to abundant mrfs. These sandstones accumulated on a gently sloping cratonic platform …

Sedimentation In The Upper Reaches Of Lake Ouachita, J. A. Patton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Lake Ouachita in west-central Arkansas is the largest man-made reservoir in the state. The lake was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 1953 for the purposes of hydropower, flood control, and recreation. Although Lake Ouachita is widely known for its high water clarity near Blakely Dam, little is known about the volume and ultimate fate of sediments that enter the lake from two primary tributaries: the North and South Forks of the Ouachita River. This project utilized a dual-frequency echo sounding system in combination with geographic information system and statistical analysis to calculate an average post-impoundment …

Sequence Stratigraphy Of The St. Joe And Boone Formations, Lower Mississippian (Kinderhookian-Osagean), Southern Ozark Region, S. C. Kincade

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Lower Mississippian (Kinderhookian-Osagean) St. Joe and succeeding Boone Formations are well exposed in northwestern Arkansas, southern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma, forming the Springfield Plateau of the southern Ozark region. This interval represents a single, third order, transgressive-regressive eustatic cycle deposited broadly across the North American craton. The initial transgression during the Kinderhookian covered the regional erosional surface developed on either the Devonian-Lower Mississippian Chattanooga Shale, or older units with crinoidal packstones deposited as platform successions or transported as down-ramp slurries. The Boone Formation is divided informally into lower and upper divisions that reflect differences in eustatic sea level. The …

Geochemical Processes And Controls Affecting Water Quality Of The Karst Area Of Big Creek Near Mt. Judea, Arkansas, V. Brahana, J. Nix, C. Kuyper, T. Turk, F. Usrey, S. Hodges, C. Bitting, K. Ficco, E. Pollock, R. Quick, B. Thompson, J. Murdoch

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Karst regions typically are considered to be vulnerable with respect to various land-use activities, owing to the intimate association of surface and groundwater and lack of contaminant attenuation provided by most karst aquifers. Inasmuch as the soluble rocks of the karst landscape can be dissolved to create large, rapid-flow zones that compete successfully with surface streams, groundwater and subsurface flow represent a much larger component of the hydrologic budget in karst regions than in areas where non-soluble rocks predominate. Karst areas typically are distinguished by being unique, but some general approaches can be applied to characterize the hydrology of the …

Age And Correlation Of The Moorefield Shale (Upper Mississippian) In Its Type Area, Northeastern Arkansas, O. Dalu, W. S. Coffey, W. L. Manger

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The name Moorefield was proposed by Adams and Ulrich (1904) for exposures of gray to brown, phosphatic shale with a basal limestone, overlying the Lower Mississippian Boone Formation, and underlying the Upper Mississippian Batesville Sandstone, in the vicinity of Moorefield, Independence County, northeastern Arkansas. Gordon (1944) 1) restricted the name Moorefield to the lower limestone-bearing interval, 2) applied a new name, Ruddell, to the succeeding shale section that comprises the bulk of the interval, with a type area near Moorefield, and 3) interpreted the interval contacts as unconformities. The name Ruddell was used for the revised Geological Map of Arkansas …

Lithostratigraphic Succession And Depositional Dynamics Of The Lower Mississippian, Southern Ozarks, Northern Arkansas And Adjacent Areas, F. Mcfarlin

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Lower Mississippian interval comprises a single, third-order, eustatic cycle subdivided lithostratigraphically into the St. Joe Limestone (Hopkins 1893) and overlying Boone Formation (Branner 1891, Simonds 1891) with type areas in northern Arkansas. Coeval, homotaxial limestones occur in adjacent southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma, but neither Arkansas name is applied. To eliminate this “state line fault,” Missouri formation names for the St. Joe interval are recognized in Arkansas as members (ascending order): Bachelor, Compton, Northview, Pierson. The Boone interval in Missouri is represented by the (ascending order): Reeds Spring, Elsey, Burlington-Keokuk undifferentiated, but utilization of those names in Arkansas is …

Distribution Of Soil Density At A Bottomland Hardwood Forest Wetland Restoration, Chicot County, Arkansas, B. E. Sleeper, Robert L. Ficklin

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Bottomland hardwood forest (BLHF) soils provide a myriad of ecosystem services, yet much information is lacking with respect to how soil physical properties influence biogeochemical cycling along topographic gradients. Current patterns of vegetation at a 149ha wetland restoration site in Chicot County, Arkansas, suggest the presence of ecologically significant variation in soil properties within the Perry Clay soil series. A study was initiated in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) to map soil bulk density and texture as well as to identify the interrelationships between soil physical properties, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen. A random grid was used to …

Morphometric Analysis Of Dinosaur Tracks From Southwest Arkansas, R. Shell, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Dinosaur trackways were discovered in Cretaceous De Queen Limestone strata in Howard County, Arkansas, in June 2011. Multiple trackways with variably sized tridactyl tracks were exposed in a commercial quarry, suggesting multiple theropod species or adult and juvenile tracks of a single species. Results of morphometric analyses of 32 plaster casts from selected trackways are reported in an effort to identify the specific track-making dinosaurs and differentiate large and small tracks. Track measurements included length and width of each track, the lengths and widths of each digit impression, and the angular spread (divarication) between digit impressions. Twenty-nine plaster casts were …

Impervious Surface Area Change In Arkansas From 2001 To 2006, D. E. Long Ii, R. C. Weih Jr.

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Impervious Surface Area (ISA) is a measurement used to determine stream quality as well as urban sprawl. ISA was calculated as part of the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) using Landsat imagery by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) in both 2001 and 2006. ISA for each of the 75 counties in Arkansas was taken from the NLCD for both 2001 and 2006. Using the ISA data, percent imperviousness was determined for each county in each time period as well as the difference between the two periods. These data were also compared to census projections for the two time periods …

Bedrock Geology Of Rogers Quadrangle, Benton County, Arkansas, Jon C. Dowell, Camille M. Hutchinson, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of Rogers quadrangle was produced at 1:24,000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software Maplnfo. Data regarding stratigraphic relations observed in the field were digitized onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG) of Rogers quadrangle. The geology of Rogers quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks of the Ordovician, Devonian, and Mississippian systems. The Cotter, Powell, and Everton formations represent the Ordovician System. The Clifty and Chattanooga formations represent the Devonian System. The St.Joe and Boone formations represent the Mississippian System. This mapping effort represents the first time stratigraphy of Rogers quadrangle was …

Bedrock Geology Of Sonora Quadrangle, Washington And Benton Counties, Arkansas, Camille M. Hutchinson, Jon C. Dowell, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of Sonora quadrangle was produced at 1:24,000 scale using the geographic information system GIS) software Maplnfo. The geology of Sonora quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks from the Ordovician, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian Systems. The Cotter, Powell, and Everton formations represent the Ordovician System. The Clifty and Chattanooga formations represent the Devonian System. The St. Joe Limestone, Boone, Batesville, and Fayetteville formations represent the Mississippian System. The Hale formation represents the Pennsylvanian System. The St. Joe Limestone crops out extensively in Sonora quadrangle and is unconformably overlain by the Boone formation in the southern portion of the …

Impact Of Black Shale Weathering On Sediment Quality, G. M. Ogendi, R. E. Hannigan, Jerry L. Farris, D. Smith

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Weathering of black shales leads to elevated metal concentrations in both surface water and stream sediments. In spite of the recent focus on black shales, few data exist on the ecological impacts of this process particularly on aquatic organisms. The key objective of this study was to determine the impact of trace metal concentrations in sediments upon aquatic organisms. To achieve the above objective, stream sediment samples were collected from streams draining black shale and limestone (used as a reference stream) lithologies located in central Arkansas between June 2003 and January 2004. Trace metal concentrations were measured by the dynamic …

Acoustic Mapping Of Aquatic Vegetation In Lakes: An Example From Northwest Arkansas, Angela M. Polly, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Bedrock Geology Of West Fork Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas, Jack T. King, Maria E. King, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of West Fork quadrangle was produced at 1:24,000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software Maplnfo. Data regarding stratigraphic relations observed in the field were digitized onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG) of West Fork quadrangle. The geology of West Fork quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks of the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian systems. The Fayetteville Shale and Pitkin Formation represent the Mississippian system. The Hale, Bloyd, and Atoka Formations represent the Pennsylvanian System. Each of these formations consists of members that were mapped at 1:24,000 scale, and this mapping effort represents …

Revised Bedrock Geology Of War Eagle Quadrangle, Benton County, Arkansas, Robert A. Sullivan, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of War Eagle quadrangle (WEQ) was produced at the 1:24000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcView® by digitizing geological contacts onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG). The geology of WEQ consists of sedimentary rocks of Ordovician (Cotter, Powell, and Everton Formations), Devonian (Clifty Formation and Chattanooga Shale), and Mississippian (St. Joe-Boone, Batesville, and Fayetteville Formations) systems. Impoundment of Beaver Lake in 1966 inundated most Ordovician rocks cropping out in WEQ, but all three formations were present in isolated outcrops along the present shoreline of the lake. The St. …

Bedrock Geology And Sea-Level History Of Fayetteville Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas, Maria E. King, Jack T. King, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital map depicting the detailed bedrock geology of Fayetteville Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas was produced at 1:24,000 scale. This map was developed utilizing state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems technology and represents the most detailed map of the geology of Fayetteville Quadrangle that has been produced. In addition, the stratigraphy was interpreted to develop a regional sea-level history for the quadrangle. The bedrock geology of Fayetteville Quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks of the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian systems. The Mississippian System is represented by (in ascending order) the Boone, Batesville, Fayetteville, and Pitkin Formations. The Pennsylvanian System is represented by (in ascending …

Thermodynamic Properties Of Neutron-Rich Matter, Matt Tilley, Bao-An Li

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The mechanism of supernova explosion and properties of neutron stars are uniquely determined by the equation of state of neutron-rich matter. Using a phenomenological equation of state within a thermal model, we study thermodynamic properties of neutron-rich matter. In particular, we investigate chemical (diffusive) and mechanical (isothermal) instabilities of neutron-rich matter and their dependence on the nuclear equation of state. Both instabilities are found to be heavily dependent upon the isospin asymmetry, temperature, and density of neutron-rich matter. We show that the boundary of the chemical instability extends farther out into the density-isospin symmetry plane than that of the mechanical …

Geologic Hazards Associated With Shale Strata And Swelling Clays Within Fayetteville Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas, Maria E. King, Jack T. King, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Hypothetical Origins Of Paleozoic Fossils From The Gulf Coastal Plain Of Arkansas, Karen Arbuckle

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A fauna of reworked Paleozoic fossils has been found in chert pebbles from the Gulf Coastal Plain in eastern Columbia County, Arkansas, although the nearest mapped exposure of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks are fifty-five miles northward in the southern edge of the Ouachita Mountains. The surficial rocks at the collection site have been referred to the Claiborne Group of Eocene age by the authors of the geological map of Arkansas. Additional outcrops containing similar Paleozoic fossils have been found within a 15-mile radius. The fauna includes both lacy and twig-like bryozoans, articulate brachiopods, tabulate and rugose corals, stalked echinoderms, gastropods, …

Large Pleistocene Box Turtle From Southwest Arkansas, Leo Carson Davis, John G. Scoggins, J. Alan Holman

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Changes In Soil Chemistry Beneath Exposed Poultry House Pads And Manure Storage Areas, Stanley L. Chapman, William R. Teague

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Concerns about nitrates in private drinking water supplies in the older poultry growing areas of Arkansas prompted soil and water testing in the early 1990's. Exposed poultry house pads were recognized as a potential source of nitrates in the groundwater. Soils beneath nine different poultry house pads in five counties were sampled in 10-30 cm increments to bedrock or to a maximum sampling depth of 90 cm. The nine sites had been exposed to natural weathering conditions ranging from never to for more than 20 years. Routine soil tests were conducted by the University of Arkansas Soil Testing Lab at …