Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geology, Geochemistry And Lava Tubes In Quaternary Basalts, Northeastern Part Of Zuni Lava Field, Valencia County, New Mexico, James Douglas Causey

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Basaltic volcanism in the northeastern part of the Zuni lava field is related to a north-northeast trending regional fracture system. This is shown by elongation of centers and their alignment. However, .the fractures do not control the direction of lava tubes.

There are three distinct stages of volcanic activity common to the Zuni lava field:

1) early pyroclastic eruptions,

2) quiescent flows or fissure eruptions􀀅

3) late pyroclastic eruptions.

Evidence for the first stage is sometimes lacking, but the second and third stages can always be seen.

The basalts range from weakly tholeiitic to alkali in nature. Potassium content varies …

Effect Of The Pedernal Axis On Permian And Triassic Sedimentation, Philip F. Hock

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The area surrounding the Pedernal Hills has been of scientific and economic interest for a number of years. The effect of the Pedernal axis on sedimentation and stratigraphy of late Paleozoic rocks is of major importance. The principal purposes of this study were to determine whether the Precambrian terrane was an active source of sediment and what effect it had on thickness of strata during Permian and Triassic time. the area was also mapped in as much detail as the scale (1:125,000) permitted.

Grain Size Reconnaissance Of The Virginia-North Carolina Inner Shelf Analysis By Settling Technique, Robert Bailey Sanford Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

The 2-fold purpose of this study is to calibrate a Rapid Sediment Analyzer and to use it to aid in the determination of the genesis of sediment on the inner continental shelf between Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras. Rapid Sediment Analyzer calibration was conducted by comparison of sieving and settling results of similar sands.

The study area was divided into sediment provinces by both a qualitative procedure (grain size and topography) and a quantitatively procedure (factor-vector analysis). Qualitative provinces are beach and surf, upper shore face, lower shore face, sea floor, and terminal shoals. The berm fines from each terminal …

Surface Energies In The Caso4-H2o System And The Effect Of Supersaturation On The Crystallization Of Gypsum, Sandra C. Feldman

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The surface energy of gypsum has been experimentally determined to be 70. 2 erg/cm² at 30˚ C. The value for anhydrite is calculated as 112 erg/cm². At various extrapolated supersaturations, the number of particles or ions necessary to form nuclei of gypsum and anhydrite is:

Supersaturation

No. part. or ions/nucleus

Gypsum

Anhydrite

10

60.5

1000

51

8

2

99

20

4

Crystal size measurements and crystal shapes were noted for gypsum within the range of supersaturations studied (45.6 to 131). The maximum crystal size is attained at a slightly lower supersaturation than the critical supersaturation. The shape …

Trace-Element Geochemistry Of Southwestern Turquoise, Anne Marguerite Colberg Sigleo

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Southwestern turquoise (CuAl₆(PO₄)₄ OH₈ · 4H₂O) is associated with Laramide intrusions along the eastern and southern margins of the Colorado Plateau in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and with a zone of Late Devonian­Mississippian tectonic activity in Nevada. A review, of the previous work on the origin of turquoise is presented. Of these, the supergene hypothesis proposed by Sidney Paige in 1912 generally remains undisputed in the literature. Much of the data presented in this study, however, suggest a hydrothermal mode of formation. The concentrations of Co in particular are most similar …

Structural Geology Of Eastern Part Of The Smithfield Quadrangle, Utah, Cheryl Leora Galloway

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area represents the eastern three-fourths of the Smithfield quadrangle, Utah. This quadrangle is located in the central part of northern Utah about 8.6 miles south of the Utah-Idaho State Line. The Bear River Range, along the eastern margin of the quadrangle, consists of stratigraphic units ranging in age from Precambrian to Devonian. The Salt Lake Formation of Tertiary age rests unconformably on Precambrian quartzite and Paleozoic units along the western side of the range. The Lake Bonneville Group overlaps Cambrian rocks in the southern part of the area and overlaps the Salt Lake Formation in the northern part. …

Source Rocks And Sediments In Drainage Area Of North Eden Creek, Bear Lake Plateu, Utah-Idaho, Larry W. Mcclurg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bear Lake Plateau extends north-south across the north central corner of Utah and the southeastern corner of Idaho. North Eden Creek drains westward through part of the plateau and is crossaxial across both strikes of beds and other structures in the area. The formations in the area mapped are of Triassic, Jurassic, and Tertiary age, although only Jurassic and Tertiary rocks contribute sediments to North Eden Creek. The formations consist of sandstones (Nugget), limestones (Twin Creek), and conglomerates (Wasatch). A local extrusion of basalt occurs in the southwestern part of the drainage area.

Particle-size analyses of 15 samples from …

Volcanic Rocks Associated With The Western Part Of The Mogollon Plateau Volcano-Tectonic Complex, Southwestern New Mexico, Rodney Charles Rhodes

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

An area of approximately 450 square miles was mapped on a reconnaissance basis, covering part of the western half of the Mogollon Plateau volcano-tectonic complex. This report deals with the geology of the area and its relationship to the regional volcano-tectonic structure of the Mogollon Plateau.

Upper Cretaceous And Lower Cenozoic Foraminifera Of Three Oil Wells In Northwestern Iraq, Farouk Sunallah Al-Omari

Doctoral Dissertations

"Seventy-five samples of well cuttings and cores from the Iraq Petroleum Company Butmah Well No. 9, Ain Zalah Well No. 16 and Ain Zalah Well No. 17, in northwestern Iraq at approximately 36° 37' north latitude and 42° 41' east longitude, have been examined in detail. The lithologic descriptive term "marl" is replaced by calcareous shale or argillaceous limestone, and the term "globigerinal limestone" is not considered applicable. The foraminiferal fauna from the upper part of the Shiranish Formation prove to be of Maestrichtian age. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary is recognized on the basis of "smaller foraminiferal" faunal assemblages; it is …

The Beach Water Table As A Response Variable Of The Beach-Ocean-Atmosphere System, Leland Edward Fausak

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Fluctuations of the water table in a marine beach over a rising half-tide cycle were investigated as a function of variations in local still water level, swash runup distance, distance of a sampling station from the shoreline, and atmospheric pressure. The data were taken from a 30-day time series of observations of environmental variables taken at Virginia Beach, Virginia, during August and September, 1969. Sequential linear multiple regression analyses were used to rank the process variables in order of importance in each of 13 water-table monitoring wells spaced along a transect transverse to the shoreline . Results showed that tidal …

Textural Properties, Provenance, And Environments Of Formation Of The "Rimrock" Sandstone Of The Filled Sinkholes Northeast Of Rolla, Missouri, Upendra Jayantilal Parikh

Masters Theses

"Filled sinkholes have long been known to occur in the carbonate rocks of Missouri. A sandstone unit occurs in these sinkholes at their outer margin, forming a rim, and is called here the rimrock sandstone. Samples of rimrock sandstone, from an area northeast of Rolla, Missouri were studied. Grain size, heavy mineral and. thin section analyses of these samples were carried out. Size analysis data suggest that, texturally, the rimrock sandstone is similar to the St. Peter sandstone and that this formation could have supplied sands for the formation of rimrock. Field evidences suggest that continental conditions prevailed at the …

St. Louis Limestone, Stratigraphy And Petrography, Near Its Type Locality, Abd El-Aziz El-Hady A. Borahay

Masters Theses

"The St. Louis Limestone of the Upper Meramecian Series, Mississippian System, is typically lithographic, light-to light-olive gray in color, dense, and fractures conchoidally. It is brecciated, especially in the lower part, and contains some chert nodules. Oolites are present close to the top of the formation. The Salem-St. Louis contact is placed at the base of the lowest breccia zone and the top of Salem is characterized by crystalline quartz and abundance of chert nodules. The appearance of typical Ste. Genevieve oolites with sand-size quartz grains indicates the St. Louis-Ste. Genevieve contact. The St. Louis Limestone is characterized by dominance …

Evaluation And Application Of Dye Tracers In Karst Terrain For Determining Aquifer Characteristics, Milton Frank Bradley

Masters Theses

"As ground water becomes increasingly important as a source of water in the United States, reliable information on the hydrological characteristics of carbonate aquifers must be obtained in order to develop them intelligently. Various tracers have been used in the past to determine if two or more points are connected hydrologically. Today there exists a number of excellent dye tracers and tracer methods have been developed in unconsolidated and clastic aquifers for determining hydrological characteristics. This paper reviews the various dye tracers and methods which might be applied in a carbonate karst terrain using wells as injection and sampling points. …

Petrology And Diagenesis Of The Cyclic Maquoketa Formation (Upper Ordovician) Pike County, Missouri, Edwin Carl Kettenbrink Jr.

Masters Theses

"The Maquoketa Formation (Upper Ordovician-Cincinnatian Series) has been extensively studied for over one hundred years, but a petrographic study of its cyclic lithologies has been neglected. The following six distinct Maquoketa lithologies have been recognized in this study in Pike County, Missouri: 1) phosphatic biosparite, 2) phosphorite, 3) micrite-microsparite, 4) dolomitic shale, 5) dolomitic marlstone, and 6) dolomitic quartz siltstone. Three cycle types are present in the Maquoketa. They are expressed as thin beds (1-20 inches) of alternating micrite-shale, micrite-marlstone, and shale-siltstone. Contacts between different lithologies are sharp, indicating a primary sedimentological origin for the cycles. Precisely what mechanism was …

The Lund Ash-Flow Tuff, John Evans Kreider

Masters Theses

"The Lund Ash-flow Tuff is the uppermost member of the Needles Range Formation, located in southwestern Utah and eastern Nevada. This member can be correlated over an area of several thousand square miles. A detailed study of petrographic and physical features of the Lund show vertical and lateral variations in mineral content and welding intensity. Vertical differences are related to changes in the magma chamber during the Lund eruption interval. Several different ash-flows make up the Lund member. All mineral concentrations vary laterally, with concentration decreasing away from the center of the Lund field. Vertical and lateral variations in physical …

A Comparative Study Of Nickel Sulphide Deposits Within The Area Of The Canadian Shield, Robert G. Kreiner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In order to plan the future development of the Canadian Shield within a conceptual framework as suggested by the Mid-Canada Corridor concept, both the presently developed and potential, natural resources of this area need to be evaluated for knowledgeable development and management. To this purpose, various areas of nickel sulphide deposits within the area of the Canadian Shield have been studied with the object of determining similar sequences of intrusive events and their spatial relationships.

Within the Sudbury area, Ontario, five periods of intrusive activity have been recognized, each period characterized by an initial intrusion of acidic composition, followed in …

Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction Of Late Quaternary Lacustrine Sediments (Seibold Site) In Southeastern North Dakota, William B. Bickley Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The Seibold Site on the Missouri Coteau in northwest Stutsman County, North Dakota, contains a late Quaternary lacustrine deposit with a spectaculary preserved and diverse biota; more than 150 species occur, of which the mollusks and fish are figured and discussed in detail in this study. The stratigraphic sequence, in ascending order, is a follows: 1) pebbly silt; 2) clayey silt; 3) organic mud; 4) calcareous mud; 5) sandy silt and clay; 6) silty sand; and 7) sandy silt and clay.

The stratigraphic sequence and biota suggest a 5-phase history for the area during the last 11,000 years. During phase …

Authigenic Analcite In The Golden Valley Formation Southwestern North Dakota, Marvin J. Furman

Theses and Dissertations

Authigenic analcite constitutes up to about 60 percent of a massive, arksosic sandstone exposed on major buttes in the North Dakota Badlands. The analcite constitutes up to about 80 percent of a thin analcimolite bed at the top of the arkose unit. The analcite occurs as spherulites in the interstices of the arkose and as a cement in the analcimolite. Three types of spherulites are recognized: (1) spherulites with an internal radial structure; (2) spherulites with a massive center and a peripheral radial structure; and (3) spherulites lacking an internal radial structure or having a poorly-defined internal structure. The spherulites …

Molluscan Paleontology Of The Pierre Shale (Upper Cretaceous), Bowman County, North Dakota, Kenneth F. Brinster

Theses and Dissertations

The Pierre Shale of Campanian and Early Maestrichtian age in Bowman County, southwestern North Dakota, has an abundant molluscan fauna and 51 species are described herein. The 51 species consist of 1 species of scaphopod, 13 species in 11 genera of gastropods, 24 species' in 17 genera of bivalves, and 13 species in 6 genera of cephalopods.

The stratigraphy of the Pierre Shale in Bowman County was not compiled into a composite section because of the homogeneity of the shale, the lack of distinctive lithologic units, and the slumped condition of the shale. However, the biostratigraphic position of the Bowman …

Surficial Lineaments And Their Structural Implications In The Williston Basin, Kirth Kirth Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

Lineaments of apparent geostructural origin are observable on air photos of the Williston basin. The pattern formed by these lineaments has the appearance of a broad system of interconnecting wrench faults such as occur on the adjacent Canadian shield. On this basis it is hypothesized that a broad system of left-lateral wrench faults may underlie the Williston basin region and possibly the entire continental foreland structural province.

Structures in the Williston basin are readily adaptable to this interpretation. The Nessen anticline appears to consist of a north-south realignment of a N. 40° E.- trending Precambrian high which was segmented by …

Quaternary Geology Of Rolette County, North Dakota, Dwight E. Deal

Theses and Dissertations

Rolette County contains approximately 942 square miles in north central North Dakota (Tps. 159-164 N., Rs. 69-73 W.) adjacent to the Canadian border. It includes the southeastern part of the Turtle Mountains and part of the glacial Lake Souris basin. Basic lithologies recognized in the surface sediments were bedded clay, silt, sand, and gravel; and three types of non-bedded diamicton. These were combined and, with bedding characteristics and organic content, formed 15 practical field mapping units. Geologically significant scarps and hill slopes were also mapped. The data collected is shown at a scale of 1 inch to 2 miles. The …

Rates Of Hillslope Lowering In The Badlands Of North Dakota, John R. Tinker Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Measurements in a small drainage basin in the Little Missouri Badlands of western North Dakota indicate an average rate of hillslope lowering by slopewash of 0.41 inch per year on the west-facing hillslopes underlain by the Sentinel Butte Formation, 0.14 inch per year on the southwest-facing hillslopes underlain by the Tongue River Formation, and 0.11 inch per year on the northeast-facing hillslopes underlain by the Tongue River Formation. Soil creep occurs mainly on the Tongue River Formation and is mostly restricted to the northeast-facing hillslopes where the average rate of soil creep parallel to the hillslope surface is 0.23 inch …

Groundwater Flow In Part Of The Little Missouri River Basin, North Dakota, Thomas M. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

The Little Missouri valley in western North Dakota is deeply incised into slightly permeable Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments. An evaluation of the groundwater flow in part of this valley was 'based on the present groundwater flow-system models. Abrupt changes in the hydrochemical facies have been explained relative to a continuous flow system.

The Little Missouri valley ls the discharge area of a regional groundwater flow system; it affects the potential distribution of the flow system for a minimum of 1.000 feet below the valley floor. The discharge area is approximately the same width as the valley floor and has a …

Petrography Of Xenolith Zones In The Black Face-Ames Plutons, Western San Juan Mountains, Colorado, Richard B. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The middle to late Tertiary Black Face-Ames plutons are irregularly-shaped, intrusive bodies located in the San Miguel Mountains of southwestern Colorado. The Ames pluton is generally a composite sill; the Black Face pluton is an asymmetric laccol1th. The two plutons are probably joined at depth, and together they form a crudely annular outcrop pattern, open toward the west. The principal rock type within the plutons is granodiorite porphyry, although part of the Ames pluton consists of porphyritic rhyodacite.

Two major zones of xenoliths of Precambrian rock occur within the Black Face-Ames plutons; scattered xenoliths are found at widely separated locations. …