Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Exploring Planetary Surfaces With Remote Sensing, Donald R. Hood

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Aside from Earth, Mars is the most well-explored planetary body in our solar system. Much has been learned about its geologic past including a history of volcanism, ice ages, and potentially long-lasting liquid water. Much of this knowledge of Mars comes from remote observations of the surface and atmosphere from Mars-orbiting satellites. Such remote observations remain the only way to examine the entirety of Mars’ surface as rovers and landers can only examine small areas. The chapters of this work cover three projects that explore the surface of Mars through a variety of remote sensing methods.

In chapter 1, Gamma-ray …

Interpretation Of Geochemical Signatures From Modern Carbonate Springs To The Rock Record, Benjamin Maas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the importance of carbonate aquifers as reservoirs of oil, of water, and of carbon dioxide, questions remain about the diagenetic processes that enhance porosity and permeability. Some of the questions are: 1) what are the water-rock interactions that control the geochemistry of spring waters; 2) are the geochemical signatures of saline-fresh water mixing zones preserved in the carbonate rock record; and 3) how much carbon dioxide outgases along spring runs? To address these questions, two field sites, one in Oklahoma (the site of an active saline-fresh water mixing zone) and the other in Colorado, the location of a former …

Carbonate Records Of Submarine Hydrocarbon Venting: Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Matthew S. Hackworth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hydrocarbon seep sediments are examined from 3 sites in the Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Lease Blocks 232, 185, and 272) to relate the effects of gas hydrates and hydrocarbons on microbial process, pore fluid chemistry, and the processes of authigenic carbonate formation. Hydrocarbon-fueled microbial reactions result in pore fluids with lowered SO₄^2- (all consumed by –10 cm) and enrichments in H₂S, alkalinity, and DIC (up to 20 mmol, 30 meq/L, and 18 mmol/L, respectively) which promote carbonate formation. Pore fluid d¹³C_DIC (PDB) is influenced by thermogenic hydrocarbons and crude oil in GC …