Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Speleothems As Proxy For The Carbon Isotope Composition Of Atmospheric Co2, M. Baskaran, R. V. Krishnamurthy

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

We have measured the stable isotope ratios of carbon in a suite of recent cave deposits (<200 >years) from the San Saba County, Texas, USA. The methodology for dating these deposits using excess ²¹⁰Pb was recently established [Baskaran and Iliffe, 1993]. The carbon isotope ratios of these samples, spanning the time period ∼1800–1990 AD, reflect the carbon isotope ratio of atmospheric CO₂ for the same period. The pathways by which the δ¹³C of atmospheric CO₂ is imprinted on these speleothems can be explained using a model developed by Cerling (1984). The results suggest that the …

Plate Motions In The North Andean Region, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, James N. Kellogg, Victor Vega

Faculty Publications

Repeated geodetic measurements with the Global Positioning System (GPS) provide direct measurements of displacements due to plate motions and active crustal deformation in Central America and northern South America, an area of complex interaction of the Nazca, Cocos, Caribbean and South American plates. The displacement rates for the period 1988-1991, obtained from the results of the first three Central And South America (CASA) GPS campaigns, are in general agreement with the predictions of the NUVEL-1 plate motion model, but there are differences in detail between the observations and the model. The Nazca-North Andes convergence rate vector measured by GPS is …

Changes In Benthic Invertebrate Composition In Response To Reservoir Aging, Arthur Popp

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

No abstract provided.

Home Range And Movement Charactersistics Of Female White-Tailed Deer At Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, Kurt C. Vercauteren

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

No abstract provided.

Geology Newsletter- 1993, Department Of Geology

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol.1, No. 18

• Faculty News
• Awards and Scholarships
• Service Staff News
• Hydrogeologic Atlas Available
• Alumni/ Friends/ Former Faculty Notes
• Geology Development and Scholarship Donations

The Geology Of The Tuff Of Bridge Spring: Southern Nevada And Northwestern Arizona, Shirley Ann Morikawa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Tuff of Bridge Spring (TBS) is a regionally-widespread, andesite to rhyolite (59.50 to 74.91 wt. %) ash-flow tuff of mid-Miocene age (ca. 15.2 Ma) that is exposed in the northern Colorado River extensional corridor of southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Determination of the areal distribution, geochronology, lithology, geochemistry, and internal stratigraphy of the TBS is important for its establishment as a reliable stratigraphic reference horizon for tectonic reconstructions of the extensional corridor during the middle Miocene. Based on reoccurring patterns of major and trace element variation, the TBS is divided into constant Cr/variable SiO₂ and variable Cr/variable SiO …

Seismic Evidence For Blind Thrusting Of The Northwestern Flank Of The Venezuelan Andes, Bruno De Toni, James N. Kellogg

Faculty Publications

Surface geology and seismic and well data from the northwestern flank of the Venezuelan Andes indicate overthrusting of Andean basement rocks toward the adjacent Maracaibo Basin along a blind thrust fault. The frontal monocline is interpreted as the forelimb of a northwestward verging fault-related fold deformed over a crustal-scarle map. The Andean block has been thrust 20 km to the northwest and uplifted 10 km on a ramp that dips about 20^o-30^o southeastward. The thrust fault ramps up through crystalline basement rocks to a decollement horizon within the shaly units of the Cretaceous Colon-Mito Juan formations. Backthrusts …

A Study Of Aquifer Sensitivity And Vulnerability In Kalamazoo County, Michigan Based On Hydrogeologic And Agricultural Factors, Steven Douglas Chidester

Masters Theses

Groundwater in Kalamazoo County, Michigan has been impacted by human activities. This study presents a statistical method for predicting aquifer sensitivity/vulnerability within a glacio-hydrogeologic system.

Computerized data including 3620 water well records with partial chemical analyses, soil surveys, land use maps, and hydrogeologic reports were used to quantify aquifer parameters, nitrate-N contaminant concentrations, soil factors, and agricultural practices. Statistical analyses included simple t-tests , correlation, ANOV A, and multiple regression analyses.

The results indicate that there are statistically significant relationships between nitrate-N concentrations and depth of well submergence, well depth, clay thickness, partial clay thickness, land use, and soil slope. …

Field Test Of A Calcite Dissolution Rate Law: Fort’S Funnel Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park, J. Scott Slunder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The laboratory-derived calcite dissolution rate law of Plummer et al. (1978) is the most widely used and mechanistically detailed expression currently available for predicting dissolution rates as a function of water chemistry. Such rate expressions are of great use in understanding timescales associated with limestone karst development. Little work has gone into the field testing of the rate law under natural conditions.

This work compared measured dissolution rates measured by a crystal weight loss experiment in Buffalo Creek within Fort’s Funnel Cave, which lies within a pristine, forested catchment of Mammoth Cave National Park. Continuous water chemistry sampling over the …

Catchment Management Report Prepared For The Dalwallinu Pithara Land Conservation District, Jenny Borger

Agriculture reports

The Pithara-Dalwallinu Land Conservation District was initiated in 1985. Over the past seven years the committee has carried out various trials, demonstrations and field days. It was decided in 1989 to go along the road of whole catchment planning utilising the Geographic Information System (GIS). It now gives me great pleasure to see the information collected over the last two years, presented as a workable document. I hope now that many farmers within the LCD will be able to use this report to aid in planning and future development of their most valued asset The Land. The Catchment Report is …

Senior Theses: Department Of Physical Sciences, Frank Baldridge, Billy B. Stapleton, James Bond, Mark A. Blair

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

1993 Fall Semester Senior Theses for the class Physical Science 471:

Petrologic Classification of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks by Frank Baldridge

X -Ray Analysis of Cave Sediments From Pigeon Water Cave of Northeastern Pine Mountain by Billy B. Stapleton

The Correlation of Stream-deposited Breccias In Bat Cave, Carter Caves, Kentucky by James Bond

Jointing and Faulting in Selected Areas of Eastern Kentucky by Mark A. Blair

Spectral Analysis Of The Flow Behavior Of Big Spring, Kings Canyon National Park, California, Linda Urzendowski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Big Spring, the resurgence of a karst aquifer in the Lilburn Cave system (Kings Canyon National Park, California), displays the uncommon phenomena of ebb and flow discharge during periods of high runoff.

Hydrograph analyses indicate that the portion of Lilburn Cave between the Z-Room and Big Spring is primarily a conduit flow aquifer. The power spectra strongly indicate a nonlinear system, with evidence of quasi-linear behavior found on a smaller scale. The transfer and kernel function indicate that no additional significant inputs or outputs to the system exist. The bench-scale model built to simulate the ebb and flow cycles in …

Strategic Minerals In The New World Order, Kent H. Butts

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The author discusses U.S. dependence on overseas sources of strategic minerals essential to sustain its economy and defense sector. U.S. vulnerability to a loss of access to important mineral supplies is more pronounced now than at any time since World War II. The uneven distribution of strategic mineral reserves and their concentration in a handful of politically unstable countries make it essential that U.S. policymakers ensure mineral availability in the new world order. The author considers the geographical imbalance of mineral trade patterns, evaluates the stability of the major strategic mineral producing countries, and assesses the potential for mineral supply …

Atmospheric Depositional Fluxes Of 7Be And 210Pb At Galveston And College Station, Texas, M. Baskaran, Charles H. Coleman, Peter H. Santschi

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

The bulk depositional fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be were measured at a coastal (Galveston) and an inland (College Station) station for about 3 years, between 1989 and 1991. The annual depositional fluxes of ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb at Galveston during this period varied by a factor of about 2.5, between 8.9 and 23.2 disintegrations per minute (dpm) cm⁻² yr⁻¹, with a mean of 14.7 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹ for ⁷Be, and 0.67 and 1.71 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹, with a mean of 1.03 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹ for ^{210 …}

Body Size In Amblyrhiza Inundata (Rodentia, Caviomorpha), An Extinct Megafaunal Rodent From The Anguilla Bank, West Indies: Estimates And Implications, Audrone R. Biknevicius, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Ross D. E. Macphee

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Rodent species typically evolve larger mean body sizes when isolated on islands, but the extinct caviomorph Amblyrhiza inundata, known only from Quaternary cave deposits on the islands of Anguilla and St. Martin (northern Lesser Antilles), provides an unusually dramatic example of insular gigantism. Here we report on a series of body mass estimates for Amblyrhiza using predictive equations based on anteroposterior diameters and cortical cross-sectional areas of humeral and femoral diaphyses. Analyses of 14 isolated specimens (5 femoral, 9 humeral), all representing adult or near adult animals, yield body mass estimates ranging from slightly less than 50 kg to more …

Petrology And Geochemistry Of Some High Pressure Rocks From Northern Part Of Rio San Juan Complex, Dominican Republic, Khandaker I. Anam

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Rio San Juan Complex is an important occurrence of high pressure/low temperature rocks in the circum-Caribbean region which contains both coherent blueschist units and two varieties of melange in the same area. The melanges contain a diverse assemblage of blocks of various sizes, different degrees of metamorphism, and mineral assemblages. Some high pressure blocks show two stages of metamorphism. The earliest stage is characterized by high pressure-low temperature conditions and the second stage is characterized by high pressure-lower temperature conditions. The geochemistry of thirteen samples from the Rio San Juan Complex has been studied and data have been compared …

The Hazardous Waste Land, Jerry L. Anderson

Jerry L. Anderson

This article was one of the first comprehensive critiques of the Superfund remediation and liability system. The article addresses systemic problems with the CERCLA mechanism that result in inequity and slow the pace of cleanups.

Anomalous Mesozoic Thermal Regime, Central Appalachian Piedmont: Evidence From Sphene And Zircon Fission-Track Dating, B. P. Kohn, M. E. Wagner, Tim M. Lutz, G. Organist

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Surface And Borehole Seismic Case Study: Fort St. John Graben Area, Alberta, Canada, Ronald C. Hinds, Richard Kuzmiski, Neil Lennart Anderson, Barry R. Richards

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The deltaic sandstones of the basal Kiskatinaw Formation (Stoddard Group, upper Mississippian) were preferentially deposited within structural lows in a regime characterized by faulting and structural subsidence. In the Fort St. John Graben area, northwest Alberta, Canada, these sandstone facies can form reservoirs where they are laterally sealed against the flanks of upthrown fault blocks. Exploration for basal Kiskatinaw reservoirs generally entails the acquisition and interpretation of surface seismic data prior to drilling. These data are used to map the grabens in which these sandstones were deposited, and the horst blocks which act as lateral seals. Subsequent to drilling, vertical …

A Comparison Of No And N20 Production By The Autophic Nitrifier Nitrosomonas Europaea And The Heterotrophic Nitrifier Alcaligenes Faecalis, Iris C. Anderson, Mark Poth, Julie Homstead, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Soil microorganisms are important sources of the nitrogen trace gases NO and N₂O for the atmosphere. Present evidence suggests that autotrophic nitrifiers such as Nitrosomonas europaea are the primary producers of NO and N₂O in aerobic soils, whereas denitrifiers such as Pseudomonas spp. or Alcaligenes spp. are responsible for most of the NO and N₂O emissions from anaerobic soils. It has been shown that Alcaligenes faecalis, a bacterium common in both soil and water, is capable of concomitant heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification. This study was undertaken to determine whether heterotrophic nitrification might be …

An Integrated Surface Seismic/Seismic Profile Case Study: Simonette Area, Alberta, Ronald C. Hinds, Neil Lennart Anderson, Richard Kuzmiski

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

On the basis of conventional surface seismic data, the 13-15-63-25W5M exploratory well was drilled into a low-relief Leduc Formation reef (Devonian Wood-bend Group) in the Simonette area, west-central Alberta, Canada. The well was expected to intersect the crest of the reef and encounter about 50-60 m of pay; unfortunately it was drilled into a flank position and abandoned. The decision to abandon the well, as opposed to whipstocking in the direction of the reef crest, was made after the acquisition and interpretive processing of both near-and far-offset (252 and 524 m, respectively) vertical seismic profile (VSP) data, and after the …

Continuous Monitoring Of High‐Temperature Fumaroles On An Active Lava Dome, Volcán Colima, Mexico: Evidence Of Mass Flow Variation In Response To Atmospheric Forcing, Charles B. Connor, Bradford M. Clement, Xiaodan Song, Sammantha B. Lane, Jennifer West-Thomas

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Rapid, multichannel monitoring of fumaroles on Volcán Colima, Mexico, provides new insight into the time‐scales and magnitudes of fumarole temperature variation. Temperatures in five fumaroles, all located along a single fracture cutting the summit lava dome of the volcano, were monitored at 20‐min intervals between May 1991 and May 1992. Measurements were made using a programmable data logger deployed near the fumarole field, and data were radiotelemetered to a nearby volcano observatory at regular intervals. Mean fumarole temperatures varied between 350°C and 550°C. Statistical analysis of these time series shows that significant diurnal variation occurs in each fumarole. Magnitudes of …

Earth News, Fall 1993, Department Of Earth Science, University Of Northern Iowa.

Earth News

Inside this issue:

--- Year in Review
--- Staff News
--- Earth Science Seminar Series, Spring Semester, 1993
--- Graduates - 1993
--- Earth Science Fall 1993 Seminar Schedule
--- Sigma Gamma Epsilon
--- News from Alumni
--- Seasons Greetings from the Department of Earth Science

Probable Glacial Climatic Conditions In Source Areas During Deposition Of Parts Of The Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group (Late Tertiary), Of Western Nebraska, Patricia E. Helland, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Evidence of the climatic conditions in the mountain sediment source areas for the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of the Ogallala Group in western Nebraska has been sought in an SEM (scanning electron microscope) study of surface features on detrital quartz grains from these deposits. The following lines of indirect evidence raised the possibility of glacial conditions: uplift of up to 3500 m in the source areas, paleohydrologic parameters indicative of a transport system analogous to the modern North Saskatchewan River, and possible cold climate surface features on cobbles from the deposits. SEM analysis shows that five of the nine …

Identification And Quantitation Of Volatile Amines In Chesapeake Bay Sediments, Neeraja Y. Krishna

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Sediments from different parts of the Chesapeake Bay were analyzed to determine the presence of volatile amines. A HF-HCl extraction method was used to extract both exchangeable and fixed amines from the sediments and a purge-and-trap technique was used to concentrate the amines. Following derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA), the HFBA-amines were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and with mass spectrometric detection. One primary amine, i-amylamine with a concentration ranging from 0. 78 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty seven samples collected on three different dates in 1993. Another primary amine, 2-methylbutylamine with a concentration ranging from 0.18 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty three samples collected on three different dates in 1993. A secondary amine, diethylamine was detected but could not be quantified in a total of seven samples collected in September 1993. The concentrations of these amines varied with location in the Bay, depth in the sediment, and time of year the sediments were collected. The origin of i-amylamine and 2-methylbutylamine might be from the biological decarboxylation of amino acids leucine and isoleucine, respectively. The origin of diethylamine is unknown.

Gps Measurement Of Relative Motion Of The Cocos And Caribbean Plates And Strain Accumulation Across The Middle America Trench, Timothy H. Dixon

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in 1988 and 1991 on Cocos Island (Cocos plate), San Andres Island (Caribbean plate), and Liberia (Caribbean plate, mainland Costa Rica) provide an estimate of relative motion between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. The data for Cocos and San Andres Islands, both located more than 400 km from the Middle America Trench, define a velocity that is equivalent within two standard errors (7 mm/yr rate, 5 degrees azimuth) to the NUVEL-1 plate motion model. The data for Liberia, 120 km from the trench, define a velocity that is similar in azimuth but substantially different in …

Mapping The Distribution Of Vesicular Textures On Silicic Lavas Using The Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner, Jaime Ondrusek, Philip R. Christensen, Jonathan Fink

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TlMS) is a potentially powerful tool for mapping detailed chemical variations in silicic lava flows which in turn could expand knowledge of pre-eruption compositional gradients and mixing processes in silicic magma bodies. However, thermal infrared image data may be greatly influenced by the range of vesicular textures which occur on silicic flows . To investigate the effect of vesicularity on TIMS imagery independent of chemical variations, we studied Little Glass Mountain at the Medicine Lake Volcano of northern California, a large rhyolitic flow of uniform composition but textural heterogeneity. The imagery was recalibrated so that …

Managing For Stubble Retention, Linda Leonard

Bulletins 4000 -

One of the objectives of sustainable farming systems is to retain as much cover on the soil as possible – this helps to maintain soil structure and protects the soil from erosion.

Improving productivity, maintaining soil structure, and stabilising fragile soils are some of the desired aims of farming. Sound rotations, reduced tillage, effective use of herbicides, maintenance of ground cover and careful management of stock are part of the management process used in achieving these goals.

This Bulletin provides an introduction to stubble retention systems. Its purpose is to create an awareness of the benefits and principles of stubble …

Chloroform Contamination In The Louisville Aquifer: An Investigation Of Its Occurrence And Propagation, Sergio E. Serrano

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents the main results of an investigation on the nature and propagation of an accidental spill of chloroform in the Louisville aquifer, Kentucky. Much of the effort is concentrated on the development of mathematical models to either reconstruct the history of evolution of the plume, or forecast its propagation in the future. Chloroform is a dense halogenated solvent which exhibits a special migration pattern in porous media: Because of this and the relative absence of a conceptual theory on its hydrodynamics in porous media, meaningful predictive models will have to deal with many unresolved theoretical aspects of contaminant …

Epa's Map Of Radon Zones, Nebraska, Sharon W. White, Lisa Ratcliff, Kirk Maconaughey, R. Thomas Peake, Dave Rowson, Steve Page, Linda C. S. Gundersen, R. Randall Schumann, James K. Otton, Doug Owen, Russell Dubiel, Kendell Dickinson, Sandra L. Szarzi

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Sections 307 and 309 of the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act (IRAA) direct EPA to identify areas of the United States that have the potential to produce elevated levels of radon. EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Association of, American State Geologists (AASG) have worked closely over the past several years to produce a series of maps and documents which address these directives. The EPA Map of Radon Zones is a compilation of that work and fulfills the requirements of sections 307 and 309 of IRAA. The Map of Radon Zones identifies, on a county-by-county basis, areas of …