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- Hydrology (3)
- Ambient noise tomography (2)
- Chile (2)
- Critical zone (2)
- Geophysics (2)
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- Remote sensing (2)
- 3-D ant (1)
- ATL06 (1)
- ATL08 (1)
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- DC resistivity (1)
- Discharge (1)
- Dynamic mass loss (1)
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- Environmental assessment (1)
- Eruptive style; explosive volcanism; mafic volcanism; microlites; microtomography; vesicle textures (1)
- Fire (1)
- Flowline model (1)
- Fundamental resonant frequencies (1)
- GIS (1)
- Gain and loss method (1)
- Geogenic solutes (1)
- Geomorphology (1)
Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Fire Effects On Soil Properties: Amending Post-Fire Soils With Native Microbial Communities And Biochar To Improve Sagebrush Performance, Sabrina Marie Schuler
Fire Effects On Soil Properties: Amending Post-Fire Soils With Native Microbial Communities And Biochar To Improve Sagebrush Performance, Sabrina Marie Schuler
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Within the sagebrush steppe, fire has been shown to affect biogeochemical properties and the microbial community composition in soils. However, there is uncertainty about the magnitude and direction of these effects, since they vary by sites that differ in abiotic and biotic conditions. Moreover, differences in post-fire management strategies are likely to mediate the effect of fire on soil properties, thus further compounding this uncertainty. Any changes in soil biogeochemical properties following fire can prevent successful restoration of Artemisia tridentata sp. wyomingensis (sagebrush), leading to variable outcomes of restoration success in the sagebrush steppe. Previous research has shown that addition …
Exploring Hydrologic Responses To Different Wildfire Spatial Patterns Through The Lens Of Computational Modeling, Luke M. Telfer
Exploring Hydrologic Responses To Different Wildfire Spatial Patterns Through The Lens Of Computational Modeling, Luke M. Telfer
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Severe wildfire disturbances are becoming increasingly common in high-elevation forests of the western United States. These fires alter watershed hydrologic processes, threatening critical downstream water resources and aquatic ecosystems. However, watershed-scale postfire hydrologic responses and water balance changes are highly uncertain. While postfire effects on individual processes such as runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration, and snow dynamics are relatively well known, the role of wildfire spatial patterns in governing hydrologic connectivity and interactions between water balance components is poorly understood due to challenges associated with measuring and comparing fires at large scales. This thesis aims to examine pattern-related postfire interactions between various …
Controls On The Frequency Content Of Near-Source Infrasound At An Open-Vent Volcano (Villarrica, Chile), Bryan Blake Rosenblatt
Controls On The Frequency Content Of Near-Source Infrasound At An Open-Vent Volcano (Villarrica, Chile), Bryan Blake Rosenblatt
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
The acoustic signals from open-vent volcanoes can contain specific information related to that volcano’s eruption dynamics and future activity. Thus, studying a specific volcano’s acoustics may provide critical warning mechanisms, signaling impending eruptions. Villarrica volcano, located in southern Chile, has an active lava lake that produces continuous infrasound with spectral peaks near 1 Hz and excursions of +/- ~0.2 Hz. The infrasound’s frequency content reveals key volcanic properties such as eruption style and crater shape. Leading up to Villarrica’s most recent paroxysm in 2015, infrasound spectral changes coincided with and indicated a rise in Villarrica’s lava lake level. As such, …
Water Quality Responses To A Semi-Arid Beaver Meadow In Boise, Idaho, Luise Bayer Winslow
Water Quality Responses To A Semi-Arid Beaver Meadow In Boise, Idaho, Luise Bayer Winslow
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Beavers have been instrumental in shaping the North American riverine landscape. However, land use change and beaver trapping have caused large decreases in beaver populations, resulting in fundamental changes to river morphology, hydrology, and biogeochemical function. Effective river restoration and remediation of arid western rivers relies on a comprehensive interpretation of how beaver activity influences water quantity and quality. In this study, I compared two stream reaches with and without beaver dams in a semi-arid watershed, to quantify the effects of beaver activity on hydrology and biogeochemistry. Within each reach, I combined dilution gauging and stream tracer experiments to determine …
Void Hunting: Ambient Noise Tomography For Spatio-Temporal Subsurface Imaging And Monitoring In Karst Environments, John B. Paustian
Void Hunting: Ambient Noise Tomography For Spatio-Temporal Subsurface Imaging And Monitoring In Karst Environments, John B. Paustian
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Karst environments are characterized by voids, i.e. sinkholes and conduits of varying size that arise from the active dissolution of carbonate rock by acidic groundwater. These voids, whether air-, water-, or soil-filled, can be difficult to image using near-surface geophysical methods due to the limited investigation depths of most active-source methods. In addition, due to the significant effort it takes to collect active-source data, investigators are often unable to monitor spatio-temporal variations in the subsurface. The ability to detect, image, and monitor subsurface voids improves the understanding of processes that create and transform voids, a vitally important insight across a …
Fundamental Resonant Frequencies Derived From Shallow Sediment Properties For The Charleston, South Carolina Area, William Dale Schermerhorn
Fundamental Resonant Frequencies Derived From Shallow Sediment Properties For The Charleston, South Carolina Area, William Dale Schermerhorn
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Large historic earthquakes, low velocity near surface sediments, a poor understanding of earthquake sources, and a growing population base for the Charleston, South Carolina area suggest robust site response and active fault maps are needed. A Boise State University team acquired 14 km of new surface-based seismic data to obtain surface wave dispersion curves and reflection images for the southern isoseismal region of the 1886 earthquake. From these data, I generate shear wave velocity (Vs)-depth profiles through a grid search approach. I integrate my results with other published data to develop a soil thickness and high frequency fundamental resonance maps …
Assessing Controls On Ice Dynamics At Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula Using A Numerical Ice Flow Model, Rainey Aberle
Assessing Controls On Ice Dynamics At Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula Using A Numerical Ice Flow Model, Rainey Aberle
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
The widespread retreat of glaciers and the collapse of ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula has been attributed to atmospheric and oceanic warming, which promotes mass loss. However, several glaciers on the eastern peninsula that were buttressed by the Larsen A and B ice shelves prior to collapse in 1995 and 2002, respectively, have been advancing in recent years. This asymmetric pattern of rapid retreat and long-term re-advance is similar to the tidewater glacier cycle, which can occur largely independent of climate forcing. Here, I use a width- and depth-integrated numerical ice flow model to investigate glacier response to ice …
Translating Risk Information To Protective Action: Examining Household Response To Information About Earthquake Hazards And Risk, Carson C. Macpherson-Krutsky
Translating Risk Information To Protective Action: Examining Household Response To Information About Earthquake Hazards And Risk, Carson C. Macpherson-Krutsky
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Natural hazards have been a part of the landscape since its existence, but they are becoming more devastating as they intersect with growing populations and as climate change increases their frequency and intensity. As these changes occur, the need to understand how to reduce disaster impacts becomes paramount. Despite growing concern and increasing costs of disasters over the past decade, household preparedness, which is at the foundation of disaster readiness, has seen little to no improvement. Using two research experiments, we adopt the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM; Lindell & Perry, 2004; 2012) as a framework to investigate what motivates …
Re-Evaluation Of The First Metamorphic P-T Path Using Quig Barometry And Equilibrium Thermodynamics, Sam Couch
Re-Evaluation Of The First Metamorphic P-T Path Using Quig Barometry And Equilibrium Thermodynamics, Sam Couch
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Quartz in garnet (“QuiG”) barometry is a relatively new technique that uses physical properties of minerals to estimate the pressure of garnet nucleation and growth history independent of chemical equilibrium. QuiG barometry was used to determine pressures of garnet growth and compared to thermodynamically calculated P-T conditions for two samples (FH-1M and Z3H) from the Lower Shieferhülle (Formation), Tauern Window, Austria. FH-1M was the first sample for which a P-T path was calculated through inversion of chemical zoning in garnet (Selverstone et al., 1984). Mineral Assemblage Diagrams (MADs) and geothermobarometric techniques were used to determine P-T conditions for garnet nucleation …
Laboratory Measurement Of Electrical And Hydraulic Properties Of Regolith Over Granitic Bedrock, Taylor James Bienvenue
Laboratory Measurement Of Electrical And Hydraulic Properties Of Regolith Over Granitic Bedrock, Taylor James Bienvenue
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Characterizing water flux within the critical zone (CZ) is essential for a multitude of studies and applications related to irrigation, drainage, water management, and contaminant transport. Trying to measure water flux in the critical zone, specifically in the subsurface, is difficult due to the associated structural heterogeneity and complex interactions taking place between biological, chemical, and physical processes. Current methods (i.e., inferred from soil suction and soil moisture measurements) to characterize water flux within the critical zone can be time consuming and are not directly related to water flux. Recent literature has provided evidence that self-potential (SP) is a promising …
Dynamic Mass Loss From Greenland's Peripheral Glaciers, Katherine E. Bollen
Dynamic Mass Loss From Greenland's Peripheral Glaciers, Katherine E. Bollen
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
While global glacier mass balance has decreased rapidly over the last two decades, mass loss has been greatest in regions with marine-terminating glaciers. In Greenland, peripheral glaciers and ice caps (GICs) cover only ~5% of Greenland’s area but contributed ~14-20% of the island’s ice mass loss between 2003-2008. Although Greenland GIC’s mass loss due to surface meltwater runoff have been estimated using atmospheric models, mass loss due to changes in ice discharge into surrounding ocean basins (i.e., dynamic mass loss) remains unquantified. Here, we use the flux gate method to estimate discharge from Greenland’s 594 marine-terminating peripheral glaciers between 1985 …
Seismic Imaging Of Active And Ancient Co2 Pathways In The Little Grand Wash Fault, Jonathan Yelton
Seismic Imaging Of Active And Ancient Co2 Pathways In The Little Grand Wash Fault, Jonathan Yelton
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Understanding the migration behavior of carbon dioxide (CO2) during long-term geological storage is crucial to the success of carbon capture and sequestration technology. I explore p-wave and s-wave seismic properties across the Little Grand Wash fault in east-central Utah, a natural CO2 seep and analogue for a long-failed sequestration site. Travertines dated to at least 113,000 k.y. and geochemical surveys confirm both modern and ancient CO2 leakage along the fault. Outgassing is currently focused in damage zones where the total fluid pressure may reduce the minimum horizontal effective stress. Regional stress changes may be responsible for decadal- to millennial-scale changes …
An Integrative Approach For Environmental Assessment And Water Resources Management Using Direct Current Resistivity (Dc), Geographic Information System (Gis), Remote Sensing, And Gain And Loss Method, Dina Ragab Desouki Abdelmoneim
An Integrative Approach For Environmental Assessment And Water Resources Management Using Direct Current Resistivity (Dc), Geographic Information System (Gis), Remote Sensing, And Gain And Loss Method, Dina Ragab Desouki Abdelmoneim
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Sustainable water resource management is a crucial national and global issue (Currell et al., 2012). In arid areas, groundwater is often the major source of water or at least a crucial supplement to other freshwater resources for agriculture, industry and domestic consumption (Vrba and Renaud, 2016). The complexity associated with groundwater-surface water interactions creates uncertainty about water resource sustainability in semi-arid environments, especially with urbanization and population growth. Flood irrigation in the early 1900s increased the shallow groundwater table in the Treasure Valley (TV), but with increasing irrigation efficiencies, they have been declining since the 1960s with a mean decline …
Mafic Explosive Volcanism At Llaima Volcano: 3d X-Ray Microtomography Reconstruction Of Pyroclasts To Constrain Shallow Conduit Processes, Pedro Antonio Valdivia-Munoz
Mafic Explosive Volcanism At Llaima Volcano: 3d X-Ray Microtomography Reconstruction Of Pyroclasts To Constrain Shallow Conduit Processes, Pedro Antonio Valdivia-Munoz
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Mafic eruptions, which are typically effusive to mildly explosive, can produce much stronger explosive eruptions. Eruption style is determined by the ability of gas to escape through the permeable network. If the permeability is sufficiently high to reduce vesicle overpressure during ascent, the volatiles may escape from the magma, inhibiting violent explosive activity. In contrast, if the permeability is sufficiently low to retain the gas phase within the magma during ascent, bubble overpressure may drive magma fragmentation. Rapid ascent rates may induce disequilibrium crystallization, increasing viscosity and explosivity, and have consequences for the geometry of the vesicle network. Quantitative vesicle …
3-D Ambient Noise Tomography Of Llaima Volcano, Chile, Claudia Kristina Rossavik
3-D Ambient Noise Tomography Of Llaima Volcano, Chile, Claudia Kristina Rossavik
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Llaima is a glaciated, basaltic-andesitic stratocone in the South-Central Andean Volcanic Zone. It is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. However, uncertainty remains regarding the depths and geometry of where magma is stored and the routes which it takes towards the Earth's surface. To provide a structural framework for the interpretation of petrological and geochemical data, I apply ambient noise tomography (ANT) to produce a 3-D shear wave velocity (vs) model of Llaima's magmatic plumbing. The results of this project show slow shear wave velocity anomalies within the upper 8 km of the …
Assessment Of Icesat-2 Level 3a Products For Snow Depth Estimation In Remote, Mountainous Watersheds, Colten Michael Elkin
Assessment Of Icesat-2 Level 3a Products For Snow Depth Estimation In Remote, Mountainous Watersheds, Colten Michael Elkin
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Seasonal snowpack accounts for ~70% of the water supply in the western United States, and measuring snow accumulation and ablation remotely has long been a stated goal of NASA. The 2018 launch of ICESat-2, a spaceborne Lidar system, has offered unparalleled spatial and temporal coverage of mountainous terrain with the potential for unprecedented vertical accuracy. Data from ICESat-2 are used to measure seasonal snow depths using the level-3A ATL08 (land and canopy elevation) product for the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho and the ATL06 (land ice elevation) product for Wolverine Creek in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska. The …
Using Remote Sensing Data Fusion Modeling To Track Seasonal Snow Cover In A Mountain Watershed, Allison N. Vincent
Using Remote Sensing Data Fusion Modeling To Track Seasonal Snow Cover In A Mountain Watershed, Allison N. Vincent
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Seasonal snowfall is the largest component of the water budget in many mountain headwater regions around the world. In addition to sustaining biological water needs in drier, lower elevation areas throughout the year, mountain snowpack also provides essential water inputs to the Critical Zone (CZ) - the outer layer of the Earth’s surface, which hosts a variety of biogeochemical processes responsible for transforming inorganic matter into forms usable for life. Water is a known driver of CZ activity, but uncertainty exists in its spatial and temporal interactions with CZ processes, particularly in the complex terrain of heterogeneous mountain areas. Increasing …
Assessing Soil-Related Terroir Factors In Sunnyslope District Vineyards Of Southwest Idaho, Rachael Nicole Haggen
Assessing Soil-Related Terroir Factors In Sunnyslope District Vineyards Of Southwest Idaho, Rachael Nicole Haggen
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Terroir is the set of factors including climate, soil, and management practices that influence the character of a wine. Of these factors, soil texture and chemistry is a major determinant in wine grape quality (van Leeuwen et al., 2009). Understanding the characteristics of the soil is key to making decisions that support the production of the highest possible quality grapes from the resources available. Few studies have been conducted in the Snake River Valley AVA (SRVAVA). This study seeks to build upon the data already available and provide analysis of vineyard-scale terroir in a leading grape growing district of the …