Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Delineation Of Mass Movement Prone Areas By Landsat 7 And Digitial Image Processing, Shiloh Marie Howland

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of whether Landsat 7 data could be used to delineate areas prone to mass movement, particularly debris flows and landslides, was examined using three techniques: change detection in NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), change detection in band 5, and the tasseled cap transformation. These techniques were applied to areas that had recently experienced mass movement: Layton, Davis County and Alpine, Spanish Fork Canyon and Santaquin, Utah County. No distinctive spectral characteristics were found with any of these techniques with two possible explanations: 1. That despite improved spatial resolution in Landat 7 over its predecessors and improved digital image …

Laboratory Testing Of Select Geotextiles As Biointrusion Barriers And Sediment Filters, David R. Beck

Masters Theses

It has been proposed that placing a geotextile over sediments with adsorbed contaminants can prevent bioaccumulation of the contaminants in larger animals by isolating the benthic organisms living within these sediments from fish. In conjunction with a field study carried out at Gull Creek, a laboratory study testing two geotextiles as biointrusion barriers and sediment filters was conducted.

Constant-head permeameters were run for seven days using cores from the field study area with a geotextile placed over the cores. For biointrusion barrier tests, medium sand was placed over the geotextile and spiked with nutrients. Following each trial, benthic organisms in …

Geochemical And Isotopic Characterization Of Shallow Basinal Brines From The Makgadikgadi Pans Complex, Northeastern Botswana: Determination Of The Sources Of Salinity, Loago N. Molwalefhe

Dissertations

Isotopes and chemical tracers have been used to constrain the sources and causes of salinity in shallow groundwater brine from the Makgadikgadi Basin, northeastern Botswana. The brine is massively rich in chloride and sodium, and moderately rich in carbonates, sulphate and potassium, and is distinctively poor in divalent cationic species. Various models that have been advanced to explain the origin of the brines include evaporative enrichment at the surface and density-induced infiltration, dissolution of evaporites, and trapped connate water.

This study presents the compositional variability and behaviors of ·the stable isotopes of carbon (S¹³C) and oxygen (S^{18 …}

Geophysical Characterization Of A Former Refinery Site, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Baraka Damas Kinabo

Masters Theses

Lakeside, a former refinery site, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is contaminated with hydrocarbon products. The contamination resulted from the refining and storage activities that took place at the site for over 50 years. The contamination is scattered in isolated pockets.

In an attempt to better define the contamination zones and therefore assist the remediation efforts, this study uses shallow geophysical methods including Electromagnetic induction using the EM 31 system, Magnetic, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and Resistivity methods. The hand auger was used to further characterize some EM 31 anomalies. The EM 31 conductivity results show elevated values resulting from the biodegradation …

A Mass Balance Study Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Vandy Blue Spikes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present state of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) is a prime concern of science, but its large size and remote location have limited the amount of reliable data that are available for mass balance calculations. The spatial pattern of mass balance for a 100-km² portion of the WAIS is estimated by calculating the residual flux of ice through 1-km grid cells organized into a geographical information system (GIs). The input data used for this estimate include continent-scale compilations of ice thickness and snow accumulation rate measurements, and ground-based measurements of snow accumulation rate and ice velocity. The …

Effect Of Heavy Metals On Bacteria, Elena Vratonjic

Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metals have become devastating environmental contaminants due to their widespread use in the manufacture of electronics, plastics, batteries and dyes. The discharge of heavy metals into the environment has caused concern about their effects on the ecosystem. Many metals are essential for growth in small amounts. However, at higher concentrations heavy metals are toxic because they bind to organic compounds. This accounts for their effects on some important parts of the cell structure, like their ability to denature protein molecules. The initial objective of this study was to find out the growth rate of E.coli and M.roseus in the …

Dissolved Humic Substances: Characterization Of Their Sorption Onto Iron Hydroxide Aluminum Hydroxide Kaolinite And Smectite, Sarah E. Diebel

OES Theses and Dissertations

Humic (HA) and fulvic (FA) acids participate in many geochemical processes and the mechanisms of their sorption to colloidal surfaces are numerous, indicating these substances are complex and heterogeneous. The current study focuses on the interactions of the Fe hydroxide (FE), Al hydroxide, Kaolinite (KA) and Smectite (SM) and these naturally occurring organic acids using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and DOC analysis at pH 4. FTIR was used for the initial functional group characterization, as well as the comparison of before and after adsorption spectra of the HA and FA. DOC examined the amounts of HA and FA adsorbed …

Application Of Geochemical Fingerprinting And Isotopes To Identity Landfill Gas Impacts To Groundwater, Eric E. Wallis

Masters Theses

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are detected in two groundwater monitoring wells (MW-60 and MW-62S) located along the northern, downgradient property line of the McGill Road Landfill (MRL) in Jackson, Michigan. Potential on-site sources for groundwater impact are two distinct landfill units at the MRL. Leachate chemistry suggested that landfill leachate was not the source of VOCs detected in groundwater. A potential source for VOCs was landfill gas. Sources of landfill gas in the vicinity of the impacted wells included the distinct MRL landfill units as well as the old Jackson County Landfill (JCL), located hydraulically downgradient from the impacted wells. …

The Characteristics That Control The Stability Of Eroding Coastal Bluffs In Maine, Corinn C. Keblinsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bluffs of glacigenic sediment exist along 53% of the tidal shoreline of Maine. Under the current regime of rising sea level, waves, groundwater, and sub-aerial processes easily erode these materials. The hazardous nature of the bluffs is not widely recognized by the public, and new homeowners are often shocked to find out that their property is disappearing. To better educate the public, the Maine Geological Survey is mapping the stability of coastal bluffs. This report utilizes that database along with other available data to determine what controls the relative stability of bluffs. A geographic information system (GIs) was used to …

Structural And Stratigraphic Investigations At The Southwest End Of The Tellico-Sevier Syncline, Southeast Tennessee, Milan A. Heath Ii

Masters Theses

The southern Appalachian Valley and Ridge is composed of a wedge of Cambrian through Pennsylvanian siliciclastic and carbonate rocks, deformed during latest Paleozoic by the collision of Laurentia and Gondwana. This collision caused the southern Appalachian foreland fold-thrust belt to deform as a critically tapered wedge. This study utilized structural and stratigraphic data to examine the mechanical behavior and timing of emplacement of the southwest end of the Tellico-Sevier syncline within this wedge. The study area is located in southeast Tennessee at the southwest end of the Tellico-Sevier syncline, which is in the first Valley and Ridge thrust sheet west …

Characterization Of Environmentally Friendly Polymers: Amylopectin And Its Blends, Mohammad Osman Melibari

Theses and Dissertations

Biodegradable polymers are desirable for a variety of applications, such as in packaging, agriculture, and medicine. Its biological degradation by microorganisms accelerated the interest in biodegradable polymers during the last decades. Within this group of innovative environmentally friendly biodegradable polymers, starch or Amylpectin plays a predominant role, due to their potential biodegradability. This research was attempted to characterize Amylopectin to obtain its physio-chemical properties. In addition, characterizations were extended to include blends of Amylopectin and biodegradable diluents. Blends of Amylopectin with biodegradable diluents including Polycaprolactone, Poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide), and Poly(3- hydroxybutyric acid) were prepared. The physical properties and the thermodynamic characteristics of …

Stratigraphy Of Lake Michigan Lobe Deposits In Van Buren County, Michigan, Steven P. Beukema

Masters Theses

The surficial glacial deposits and landforms of Van Buren County were recently mapped at a 1:24,000 scale as part of a STATEMAP project. Several borings were drilled to supplement the surface data. Six of these borings were characterized in detail by means of gamma ray logging, textural analysis, and X-ray diffraction of the clay-sized fraction of the diamicton units.

Results from this study reveal two diamicton units at stratigraphically distinct positions that can be correlated across the county and that are separated by a thick sequence of lacustrine sediments. Correlation of diamicton and lacustrine units was accomplished by analyzing several …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Hypogeal And Epigeal Emergence On Seedling Competition In Legumes, Keith E. King

McCabe Thesis Collection

Seedling emergence is either hypogeal or epigeal. In hypogeal emergence the cotyledons remain below the soil surface during seedling development, while in epigeal emergence the cotyledons extend above the soil surface due to elongation of the hypocotyl. Here we examine the effect of seed size, and emergence type, on seedling growth. Six legumes with variation in seed size and either epigeal or hypogeal emergence were grown under dark and light conditions. A competition study was also conducted where a hypogeal and epigeal legume were grown in combination with wheat and ryegrass. Legumes expressing epigeal emergence were cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), mung …

From The Rim To The River: The Geomorphology Of Debris Flows In The Green River Canyons Of Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado And Utah, Isaac J. Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Green River canyons of the eastern Uinta Mountains have experienced a 5-year period of high debris flow activity. Catchment factors were studied in watersheds and on debris fans with recent debris flows, leading to the development of a conceptual framework of the hillslope and debris flow processes that deliver sediment to the Green River. Two recent fan deposits were monitored to determine the magnitude and processes of reworking that occur during mainstem floods of varying magnitude.

The dominant debris flow initiation mechanism, termed the firehose effect, occurs when overland flow generated on bedrock slopes cascades down steep cliffs and …

Using Geographic Information Systems And Remote Sensing To Analyze Fire Likelihood Areas At The Regional Scale In The Western United States, Russell W. Reading

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly used to examine fire activity. This study uses GIS to determine fire likelihood probabilities at an intermediate scale ( I-kilometer) on a daily basis given readily available data. Layers used for the analysis included slope, aspect, elevation, fuel type, proximity to existing fires, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, average vapor pressure deficit, precipitation, 1-hour fuel moisture, and 10-hour fuel moisture.

There were three objectives of this study: 1. Establish a correlation between burn perimeters and readily available topographic and environmental data, and map the spatial distribution of these as fire likelihood areas; 2. …

The Middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation: Sequence Stratigraphy And Geochemistry Across A Ramp-To-Basin Transition, Elizabeth S. Langenburg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation is interpreted as having been deposited in the shallow ramp and deeper basin environments of the House Range embayment (HRE), presumably, during a single third-order sequence. In the Drum Mountains, the Wheeler Formation (295 m thick) is dominated by proximal and distal ramp deposits; at Marjum Pass, the Wheeler Formation (190m thick) is dominated by basinal shale deposits. The Wheeler Formation contains only one biozone marker; the first appearance of Ptyhagnostus atavus. Lack of other chronostratigraphic markers and distinctive stratal patterns in the basinal facies makes correlation along this ramp-to-basin transect difficult. Therefore, carbon-isotope …

Validation Of A Radiometric Normalization Procedure For Satellite-Derived Imagery Within A Change Detection Framework, Karin E. Callahan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detecting changes in land cover through time using remotely sensed imagery is a powerful application that has seen increased use as imagery has become more widely available and inexpensive. Before a time series of remotely sensed imagery can be used for change detection, images must first be standardized for effects outside of real surface change. This thesis established a validation protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of an automated technique for normalizing temporally separate but spatially coincident imagery. Using the concept of pseudo-invariant features between master-slave image pairs, spatially coincident dark and bright points are identified from images and a regression …

Characteristics, Evolution, And Lateral Variation Of Lower Cretaceous Supradetachment Basins In The Daqing Shan, Inner Mongolia, China, Adrian K. Berry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lower Cretaceous basins associated with the Hohhot detachment in the Daqing Shan of Inner Mongolia, China, allow us to better understand the tectonic evolution of extensional basins formed in association with detachment faulting and metamorphic core complex formation. The six basins, informally named N1, N2, S1, S2, S3, and S4, are located in different structural settings, or depozones, throughout the detachment-metamorphic core complex setting, and although all basins are consistent with previously proposed models for supradetachment basin sedimentation, second-order variability in sedimentary style is exerted by these distinct structural settings. The basins are composed of coarse, predominantly footwall derived, conglomerate …

One-Dimensional Modeling Of Bromide Tracer And Trichloroethylene Transport Based On Laboratory Experiments In Vertical Soil Columns, Keri L. Murch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Enhanced biodegradation using carbon donor and microbial addition is being considered as a possible remediation technique for a trichloroethylene (TCE) contaminated area in Sunset, Utah, west of the source area on Hill Air Force Base. As a precursor to any in situ remediation attempts, several laboratory treatability experiments are being conducted, including the construction of microcosms and flow-through columns. Nine large-scale flow-through columns were built using site groundwater and aquifer material. Bromide tracer tests were conducted to establish and understand the hydraulic conditions within the columns prior to the commencement of the TCE biodegradation experiments. Four predictive models were created …

Simulation Of Groundwater Flow In Cache Valley, Utah And Idaho, Barry Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A groundwater model of Cache Valley was created using MODFLOW. Steady-state calibration of the model demonstrated that recharge to the lower confined aquifer may occur along the margin of the valley that borders the Wellsville Mountains and the Bear River Range. Steady-state calibration also showed that discharge from the unconfined aquifer may occur along the eastern and western margins of the valley in both the Utah and the Idaho portions of the valley.

Two simulations were run with increased pumping of 3 5 cubic feet per second (1 cubic meter per second) from the principal aquifer. The first simulation was …

Geology Of The Deseret Peak East 7.5' Quadrangle, Tooele County, Utah, And Impacts For Hydrology Of The Region, Torrey J. Copfer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detailed geologic mapping of the Deseret Peak East 7.5' Quadrangle yields new interpretations regarding the stratigraphy of the Oquirrh Basin, fault and fold geometry, and structural evolution of the region. The Stansbury Range consists of the north-south-trending Deseret anticline. Basal Mississippian units rest unconformably on Cambrian beds in the central part of the range. Paleozoic uplift, Mesozoic contraction, and Cenozoic extension have created a series of broad folds, large thrust faults, and several normal faults.

The area is dominated by bedrock springs, with the presence of abundant and thick Quaternary deposits unrelated to Pleistocene glaciation, burying drainages, and mantling hillslopes. …

Evaluation Of Chela Formation In Kambala-Livuite Area, Southern Block 0, Cabinda, Angola, Alba B. Bias Dos Santos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The abundance of good reservoir and source rocks offshore Cabinda, Angola, makes the area an attractive and successful hydrocarbon province. Block 0, offshore Cabinda, lies in the Lower Congo basin along the western coast of Africa. The stratigraphy of Block 0 consists of two major oil-rich sequences: the rift sequence (primarily lacustrine) and the post-rift sequence (primarily marine). These are separated by a thick section of evaporites, and thus are referred to as the pre-salt sequence and post-salt sequence, respectively.

The Chela Formation, mid-Aptian in age, was deposited before the salt. It consists of sandstones and conglomerates locally interbedded with …

Mitigation, Monitoring, And Geomorphology Related To Gully Erosion Of Archaeological Sites In Grand Canyon, Paul A. Petersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gully erosion has been damaging archaeological sites in Grand Canyon during the last several decades, and there is a need to protect these features through mitigation, monitoring, and better geomorphic understanding. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of erosion-control structures, determine the accuracy and utility of aerial photogrammetry for monitoring gullies, and understand the geomorphology of the erosion. We performed total-station surveys and other data collection during February and October, 2002, at nine study sites in eastern and western Grand Canyon.

Erosion-control structures are more prone to be damaged by flow when they are placed in …

Quaternary Geology And Landscape Evolution Of Eastern Grand Canyon, Arizona, Matt D. Anders

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tectonics and drainage evolution are controlling overall landscape incision in eastern Grand Canyon. Superimposed on downcutting are dynamic responses of hillslopes, tributary streams, and the Colorado River to glacial-interglacial climate cycles. Five tributary stream fill terraces have been identified, and luminescence dating indicates aggradation was occurring 50- 34 ka {S3), 12-7 ka (S2), and 5-3.5 ka (S1). Seven Colorado River fill terraces have been identified, and luminescence and U-series dating indicate deposition was occurring 343-322 ka (M5), 151-118 ka (M4), and 71-64 ka (M3).

Aggradation by the Colorado River in eastern Grand Canyon begins during glacial advances and continues into …

Field Testing Of Abrasion Resistant Carbides, Kevin C. Orme

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Chromium, tungsten, titanium, and vanadium carbides were investigated to determine relative cost of operation for each in an agricultural environment. For use on a ripper plow, these carbides were field tested in two different soil types; one soil having a matrix of gravel and cobblestones, and the other consisting of hard dirt and large underground rocks. Each alloy was applied to a high carbon plow point using an arc welding process. Along with the welded points, cast chromium carbide was tested. The results are given in price per acre and not solely longevity of the point. It was concluded that …

Geology Of Part Of The Southwestern Brushy Mountains, Inner Piedmont, North Carolina, And The Geochemistry Of Western Inner Piedmont Migmatite, James L. Kalbas

Masters Theses

The newly defined boundary between the western and eastern Inner Piedmont belts has been the focus of several recent tectonic studies in the southern Appalachians. Specifically, the Brindle Creek fault was recognized in southwestern North Carolina as a thrust that juxtaposed Siluro-Devonian-age paragneisses (now-known) and Devonian and Mississippian granites atop Neoproterozoic- to Cambrian-age paragneisses, Middle Ordovician volcanic and metasedimentary rocks, and Ordovician intrusive units.

Detailed geologic mapping in the Kings Creek 7.5-minute quadrangle, southwestern Brushy Mountains, Caldwell County, North Carolina, revealed the northeastern continuation of the thrust. Recognition of the northeastern extension of the fault, and analysis of small -scale …

Understanding Wavelet Analysis And Filters For Engineering Applications, Chethan Bangalore Parameswariah

Doctoral Dissertations

Wavelets are signal-processing tools that have been of interest due to their characteristics and properties. Clear understanding of wavelets and their properties are a key to successful applications. Many theoretical and application-oriented papers have been written. Yet the choice of a right wavelet for a given application is an ongoing quest that has not been satisfactorily answered. This research has successfully identified certain issues, and an effort has been made to provide an understanding of wavelets by studying the wavelet filters in terms of their pole-zero and magnitude-phase characteristics. The magnitude characteristics of these filters have flat responses in both …

A Geochemical Survey Of The Natural Waters Of Belize, Central America, Anthony D. Marfia

Masters Theses

A geochemical survey of the natural waters in Belize, Central America was carried out to compliment routine water quality analysis and to identify processes affecting water quality. The objective of this research was to provide a geochemical assessment of natural waters throughout Belize by examining select major ions (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ , SO₄^2-), and stable isotopes of carbon (¹³C), oxygen (¹⁸O) and hydrogen (²H).

The dominant geology relevant to this investigation comprises a varied landscape of carbonates and elastic sediments in a subtropical rainforest/savannah climate. Stable oxygen and hydrogen …

Numerical And Granulometric Approaches To Geophysical Granular Flows , Sébastien Dartevelle

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Volcanic ash clouds can be fed by an upward-directed eruption column (Plinian column) or by elutriation from extensive pyroclastic-flows (coignimbrite cloud). For large-scale eruptions, there is considerable uncertainty about which mechanism is dominant. Here we analyze in a novel way a comprehensive grainsize database for pyroclastic deposits. We demonstrate that the Mount Pinatubo climactic eruption deposits were substantially derived from coignimbrite clouds, and not only by a Plinian cloud as generally thought. Coignimbrite ash-fall deposits are much richer in breathable <10 m ash (5–25 wt%) than pure Plinian ash at most distances from the source volcano. We also show that coignimbrite ash clouds, as at Pinatubo, are expected to be more water rich than Plinian clouds, leading to removal of more HCl prior to stratospheric injection, thereby reducing their atmospheric impact.

Controls On Middle To Late Ordovician Synorogenic Deposition In The Southeastern Corner Of Laurentia, German Bayona

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Middle and Upper Ordovician strata in the southernmost Appalachians document initial collision along the southeastern margin of Laurentia during the Blountian orogeny, an early phase of the Taconic orogeny. Coeval drowning and exposure of different parts of the former platform and variations in stratal architecture have been attributed to tectonic and depositional loading along the collisional margin. Stratigraphic correlations, using a bentonite-graptoliteconodont time framework, a palinspastic map, and a map of subsurface basement structures, suggest that basement-fault reactivation, flexural subsidence, and eustasy variously controlled uplift, subsidence, and deposition at different sites within the peripheral foreland basin. This dissertation documents how …