Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Cambrian Trilobites From The Nounan Dolomite And Lower St. Charles Formation (Upper Marjuman To Lower Sunwaptan; Miaolingian To Furongian Series), Smithfield Canyon, Northern Utah, Frederick A. Sundberg, Hannah R. Cothren, Carol M. Dehler

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The trilobite faunas that occur with the Steptoean Positive Isotope Carbon Excursion (SPICE) at Smithfield Canyon, Utah, have been reported, but not illustrated. Given the importance of the SPICE at this section for international correlations, the trilobites from new collections from the upper Nounan Dolomite to lower St. Charles Formation at Smithfield Canyon are reported herein and integrated with the previously reported taxa. Trilobite assemblages indicate that the upper Cedaria to the Ellipsocephaloides biozones (Miaolingian Series, Guzhangian Stage to Furongian Series, Jiangshanian Stage) are present stratigraphically below or above the SPICE.

Some of the taxa reported herein may represent new …

Hydrocarbon And Co2 Emissions From Oil And Gas Production Well Pad Soils Comparative To Background Soil Emissions In Eastern Utah, Cody S. Watkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

What effect does the development of oil and gas have on the observed air quality (i.e., increased ozone, carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and/or methane emissions) in northeastern Utah? What percentage of these gases is natural background emissions, and what percentage is due to the recent oil and gas development in the region? Emissions in this text refer to gases released from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere. Methane is the primary compound in natural gas. Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture. Emissions of methane, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and CO₂ at 27 …

Reply To Simon And Reed: Independent And Converging Results Rule Out Historic Disturbance And Confirm Age Constraints For Barrier Canyon Rock Art, Joel L. Pederson, Harriet Cornachione, Steven R. Simms, Reza Sohbati, Tammy M. Rittenour, Andrew S. Murray, Gary Cox

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We welcome this further discussion of our results on the age of the Great Gallery rock art in the Canyonlands of Utah. The comment by Simon and Reed (1) focuses on just one of the three components of our study (2), which is presented in greater technical detail in ref. 3 and is surely our best-constrained and least-surprising result: the dating of a rock-fall that removed some of the art and thus provides a minimum age. Simon and Reed (1) point out that the Great Gallery panel is not pristine and relate the sordid human history of visitation and possible …

Age Of Barrier Canyon-Style Rock Art Constrained By Cross-Cutting Relations And Luminescence Dating Techniques, Joel L. Pederson, Harriet Cornachione, Steven R. Simms, Reza Sohbati, Tammy M. Rittenour, Andrew S. Murray, Gary Cox

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Rock art compels interest from both researchers and a broader public, inspiring many hypotheses about its cultural origin and meaning, but it is notoriously difficult to date numerically. Barrier Canyon-style (BCS) pictographs of the Colorado Plateau are among the most debated examples; hypotheses about its age span the entire Holocene epoch and previous attempts at direct radiocarbon dating have failed. We provide multiple age constraints through the use of cross-cutting relations and new and broadly applicable approaches in optically stimulated luminescence dating at the Great Gallery panel, the type section of BCS art in Canyonlands National Park, southeastern Utah. Alluvial …

Landscape Evolution Of The Needles Fault Zone, Utah, Investigated Through Chronostratigraphic And Terrain Analyses, Faye L. Geiger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arcing eastward from the deep gorge of Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River is a series of aligned valleys (graben) and ridges (horst). This unusual landscape has formed as subsurface salt deforms toward the river and dissolves away, causing the overlying rocks to fault, slide, and subside. Geologists have long been interested in this actively evolving area they call the Needles fault zone, because understanding its mechanics and origin may shed light on how faults work in general and similar, yet inaccessible places like offshore rift zones or even the surface of the Moon. Despite this interest, the timing and …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow, Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We created six new tree‐ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas‐fir collected within the Logan …

A Middle To Late Holocene Record Of Arroyo Cut-Fill Events In Kitchen Corral Wash, Southern Utah, William M. Huff

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arroyos are steeply entrenched channels that form by incision into weakly consolidated valley-fill alluvium. This study attempts to offers clues into the processes behind their formation by dating arroyo sediments using luminescence and radiocarbon techniques. The importance of understanding arroyo formation is due to a possible linkage with decadal to centennial-scale climate fluctuations. In the 1800s and early 1900s, many of the shallow, perennial streams throughout southern Utah that used for a variety of agricultural and domestic uses were incised up to ~30 m into their alluvium by frequent and high-magnitude flood events. The economical and ecological effects of these …

Dendrochronology In Northern Utah: Modeling Sensitivity And Reconstructing Logan River Flows, Eric B. Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The population centers in northern Utah are highly dependent upon snowpack for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower. When the snowpack melts in the spring and early summer, it feeds streams draining the Wasatch, Bear River, and Uinta Mountains. The rivers are diverted and dammed to deliver water to the greater Salt Lake metropolitan area. In order to properly allocate this water, managers need to know how much water normally flows in the rivers and the frequency and magnitude of wet and dry periods to expect. However, climate patterns in the region are not well understood and records of streamflows are …

The Quaternary Stratigraphy Of The Henrys Fork And Western Browns Park, Northeastern Uinta Mountains, Utah And Wyoming, Ronald C. Counts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The landscape evolution of the northeastern Uinta Mountains and the manner in which climatic and tectonic forcing have influenced it are not well constrained. Surficial deposits covering ~325 km² below the glacial termini in the Henrys Fork and ~50 km² along the Green River in western Browns Park were mapped at 1:24,000 scale to develop a Quaternary stratigraphic framework for the northeastern Uinta Mountains.

The Henrys Fork mapping area spans from late Wisconsinan moraines to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The Henrys Fork stratigraphy contains 10 mainstem gravels, six piedmont gravels, and landslide deposits. Terraces preserved along the Henrys Fork …

Structural Analysis Of Co2 Leakage Through The Salt Wash And Little Grand Wash Faults From Natural Reservoirs In The Colorado Plateau, Southeastern Utah, Anthony P. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Little Grand Wash fault and the Salt Wash Graben in the Colorado Plateau of southeastern Utah emit CO₂ gas from abandoned drillholes, springs, and a hydrocarbon seep. Similar CO₂-charged water has also been emitted in the past, as shown by large localized travertine deposits and veins along and near the fault traces. The faults cut natural CO₂ reservoirs and provide an excellent analog for geologic CO₂ sequestration. The faults cut a north-plunging anticline of rocks consisting of siltstones, shales, and sandstones from the Permian Cutler Formation through the Cretaceous Mancos Shale. The Little Grand …

Geochemistry Of Ground Water - Surface Water Interactions And Metals Loading Rates In The North Fork Of The American Fork River, Utah, From An Abandoned Silver/Lead Mine, Neil I. Burk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aqueous geochemistry and hydrology of the North Fork of the American Fork River, its tributaries, and the ground water in the vicinity of the Pacific Mine site were investigated in order to determine what impact ground water entering the North Fork has on toxic metal loads in the river. Toxic metal contamination in the North Fork is great enough that brown and cutthroat trout have absorbed lead, cadmium, and arsenic in their tissues at concentrations that are hazardous to human health if consumed. Ground water that flows through the mine site flows directly through the mine tailings before entering …

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 …

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 …

Controls On Channel Organization And Morphology In A Glaciated Basin In The Uinta Mountains, Utah, Betty E. Paepke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The organization and morphology of Middle Fork Sheep Creek and South Fork Sheep Creek, two mountain streams in the upper Sheep Creek basin, are controlled by the spatial distribution of glacial moraines. Both channels are organized into a reoccurring sequence of steep-gradient reaches changing downstream to low-gradient reaches. Steep-gradient reaches are located where the channels flow through moraine s. Low-gradient reaches are located in meadows downstream of the steep-gradient reaches and immediately upstream of the next moraine. Knickpoints in the longitudinal profiles of both streams coincide with the location of moraines.

Large boulder s, beyond the size transportable by the …

Type Locality For The Great Blue Limestone In The Bingham Nappe, Oquirrh Mountains, Utah, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The Great Blue Limestone was named originally by Spurr (1895) from exposures near the Mercur mining district in the Oquirrh Mountains, Utah. The formation was described in greater detail by Gilluly (1932) in the Ophir mining district. Neither formally established a type locality for this formation in the Oquirrh Mountains. However, the formation has since been correlated broadly with similar sedimentary rocks elsewhere in the adjoining Rocky Mountains and Great Basin regions. For the record, and to assist future correlations, a type measured section of the Great Blue Limestone in the Oquirrh Mountains is located, described, and a detailed measured …

Tertiary Stratigraphy And Structural Geology, Wellsville Mountains To Junction Hills, North-Central Utah, Kathryn M. Goessel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study integrates detailed mapping of Tertiary deposits along the divide between the lower Bear River basin and the Cache Valley basin with several other techniques to generate a depositional model, define extension-related structures, and compile a geologic history for this part of the northeastern Basin and Range province. The study area is situated along the topographic divide between Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah, from the Wellsville Mountains north almost to Clarkston Mountain. These ranges are cored by folded and thrusted Paleozoic rocks. They are bound on the west by normal faults of the Wasatch fault zone and on …

Geology Of The Oquirrh Mountains, Utah, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The Oquirrh Mountains are located in north-central Utah, immediately south of the Great Salt Lake, in the easternmost part of the Basin and Range physiographic province. The range consists of northerly-trending aligned peaks 56 kilometers long flanked on the west by Tooele and Rush Valleys and on the east by Jordan and Cedar Valleys. The range hosts several of the more prominent base- and precious-metal and desseminated-gold mining areas in the western United States. The 130-year old Bingham porphyry copper mining district, which is of world-class magnitude in the central part of the range, is still active. The Mercur mining …

A Case For Site Acclimation In The Reintroduction Of The Endangered Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen Texanus), United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Two site-acclimation studies (Mueller and Marsh 1998, Foster and Mueller 1999) were conducted in 1997 and 1998. The primary emphasis was habitat use and dispersal but we also examined if the rapid dispersal, typically associated with hatchery-produced razorback suckers (suckers), could be mitigated by allowing fish a period of time to recover from stocking-induced stress. Findings of those studies and existing physiological literature suggest that current stocking protocols may subject stocked fish to unnecessary behavioral or physiological stress that could impact performance and ultimately survival. This report presents those findings and recommends an evaluation of existing stocking procedures for the …

Selected Hydrologic Data For The Central Virgin River Basin Area, Washington And Iron Counties, Utah 1915-97, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Hydrologic data were collected in Washington and Iron Counties, Utah, from 1995 to 1997 to better understand the hydrologic system. Data from earlier years also are presented. Data collected from wells include well-completion data, water-level measurements, and physical properties of the water. Data collected from springs and surface-water sites include discharge and physical properties of the water. Selected water samples collected from ground- and surface-water sites were analyzed for isotopes, chlorofluorocarbons and dissolved gases.

A Hydrogeochemical Study Of The Evolution Of The Headwaters Of The Bear River In The Uinta Mountains, Utah, Michael F. Leschin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The headwaters of the Bear River in the Uinta Mountains of Utah provide a good setting in which to examine the influence of geological materials on stream chemistry. Ionic contributions to the stream-water from soils, vegetation, and the atmosphere generally are sparse enough that they do not mask the geologic contributions. Samples from 37 sites on the four major headwater streams and several minor tributaries were examined geochemically. Data derived from the samples allowed the construction of a hydrogeochemical weathering model specific to the study area. A significant feature of this model is that carbonic acid is the dominant chemical …

Hydrochemical Definition Of Ground Water And Surface Water, With An Emphasis On The Origin Of The Ground-Water Salinity In Southern Juab Valley, Juab County, Utah, Heidi K. Hadley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of a U.S. Geological Survey study in Juab Valley in central Utah from 1991 to 1994, the chemistry of ground - and surface -water samples was determined. Total dissolved solids in the ground water of southern Juab Valley have historically been higher, in general, than ground water in other areas of Utah. Total dissolved solids for ground-water samples from this study ranged from 623 to 3,980 milligrams/liter. High-sulfate chemical data of previous studies suggested that the major source of ground-water salinity is the dissolution of gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate ) from the Arapien Shale. Sulfur-34 to sulfur-32 isotopic …

Geologic Map Of The Logan Quadrangle, Cache County, Utah, James P. Evans, James P. Mccalpin, David C. Holmes

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hydrocarbons And Mineral Resources Of The Uinta Basin, Utah And Colorado, United States Department Of The Interior, Indian Affairs Bureau

Mines and Mineral Resources

The Uinta Basin holds special fascination for economic geologists because of its rich and diverse assemblage of mineral and hydrocarbon resources. Due to their presence in rocks of the basin, much effort has been put into assessing and exploiting uranium, phosphate, gold, copper, coal, and evaporite minerals. However, the basin is probably best noted for its extensive and very rich accumulations of hydrocarbons such as, oil, gas, bituminous sandstones, oil shale (shale oil), and gilsonite and other solid and semi-solid hydrocarbon species. More importantly, several of these commodities have proven to be a major source of wealth and resources for …

Hydrogeology And Hydrochemistry Of The East-Central Portion Of The Salt Lake Valley, Utah, As Applied To Wellhead Protection In A Confined To Semiconfined Aquifer, Jeff W. Gadt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Safe Drinking Water Act includes provisions for state wellhead protection programs which address wellhead protection areas. In Utah, these areas are called drinking water source protection (DWSP) zones. Zones Two and Three are delineated according to analytical or numerical techniques, which are based on hydrogeological and time-of-travel data, as well as recharge information, accumulated through the use of hydrogeologic and hydrochemical techniques. The primary conclusions of this research are:

1. A fence diagram and site hydrostratigraphic diagram show that the hydrogeology is more complex than previously has been thought. The principal aquifer at the target well site comprises a sequence …

Petrology Of Passive Margin-Epeiric Sea Sediments: The Garden City Formation, North-Central Utah, Susan K. Morgan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Lower Ordovician Garden City Formation is part of the thick sequence of Lower Paleozoic limestones, dolostones, and minor siliciclastic sedimentary rocks of the western United States. The carbonate rocks were formed predominantly by shallow water deposition in tropical, passive-margin epeiric seas.

The Garden City Formation is composed of nine lithotypes which represent the various environments. The formation is a storm-influenced transgressive sequence which may be divided into innershelf shallow subtidal and outer-shelf deep subtidal environments separated by a skeletal accumulation. The skeletal accumulation, formed by storm initiation, was a submerged topographic high, below normal wave base. The inner shelf …

Surficial Geology Of The Smithfield Quadrangle, Cache County, Utah, Michael V. Lowe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Smithfield 7.5' quadrangle is located about 13.8 kilometers (8.6 miles) south of the Utah-Idaho State Line and occupies the central portion of the eastern side of Cache Valley, Utah. The mapped area contains more than 55 square miles. The Bear River Range on the eastern side of the quadrangle contains stratigraphic units ranging from Precambrian to Quaternary age. Cache Valley contains deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age. Quaternary units in the Smithfield quadrangle are subdivided into thirty-two map units based on age and genesis. Five ages of Quaternary units are identified, and these units are assigned to one of …

Geology And Mining Industry Of The Tintic District, Utah, George Warren Tower, Jr., George Otis Smith

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The field work upon which this report is based was begun in July, 1897, and continued without interruption until December of the same year. The area studied is approximated 15 miles square and contains 234 square miles. The topographic maps, which are two in number, were prepared under the direction of Mr. R. U. Goode, Mr. S. S. Gannett doing the triangulation and Messrs. Marshall and Griswold the topography in the fall of 1896 and summer of 1897. The mapping is done on two scales; the larger area, approximately 15 miles square, is mapped on a scale of 1:62,500. This …

Structural Geology Of The Central Part Of Clarkston Mountain, Malad Range, Utah, Douglas A. Green

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The central part of Clarkston Mountain is located in northcentral Utah in the southern part of the Malad Range. It is northwest of Clarkston, Utah. The mapped area measures 2.5 mi. in the north-south direction and 6.5 mi. in the east-west direction. It is within the Basin and Range Province.

The Ute Formation of Middle Cambrian age is the oldest exposed stratigraphic unit. Other Cambrian units, in ascending order, are: Blacksmith Formation, Bloomington Formation, Nounan Formation, and St. Charles Formation. These units consist predominantly of limestone, dolostone, and shale. Units of Ordovician age include the Garden City Formation and the …

Potential Geologic Hazards Near The Thistle Landslide, Utah County, Utah, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

In mid-April, 1983, an old landslide near Thistle, Utah, began to move, and within days had blocked Spanish Fork Canyon. As the slide's movement continued, construction crews gradually converted the toe of the slide into an earth-filled dam--Thistle dam--that impounded northwest-flowing Spanish Fork River. The resultant reservoir, known as Thistle Lake, was subsequently drained because of uncertainty about the stability of the dam. Recently, officials of Utah County have explored various alternatives for a water-retention structure in the area, including utilization of Thistle dam. The Thistle Slide Committee, established by the State of Utah to evaluate the suitability of using …

Chemical Quality Of Ground Water In Salt Lake Valley, Utah, 1969-85, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

During 1979-84, 35 wells completed in the principal aquifer in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, that had been sampled during 1962-67 were resampled to determine if water-quality changes had occurred. The dissolved-solids concentration of the water from 13 of the wells has increased by more than 10 percent since 1962-67.