Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geology Of A Section Of The Northwest Tobacco Root Mountains, Madison County, Southwest Montana, Kiff James Samuelson

Masters Theses

The northwest Tobacco Root Mountains are located on the boundary between two major tectonic provinces: the fold and thrust belt and the Rocky Mountain foreland. Deformation typical of the Rocky Mountain foreland is present in the form of two major northwest trending faults with associated folds. Paleozoic rocks were passively draped over at least one of the elevated Precambrian blocks. Foliation of the Precambrian rocks also appears to have been gently folded in the process.

Folds and thrusts occur within the Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks, on the westernmost flank of the range, appearing to follow the general trend of the …

Late Tertiary Rodents From The Catamarca Province, Argentina : The Field Museum Collections, Lee A. Schremp

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The rodents collected in the 1920's by the Marshall Field Expedition for the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, are systematically reviewed and placed within the stratigraphic framework established at the time of collection. One new genus (Proeuryzygomys) and three new species (Abracoma intermedias, Proeuryzygomys diminutiva, and Cayiodon (Lelongia) catamarcensis) are proposed. Two distinct faunas are recognized corresponding to the Huayquerian and Montehermosan Land Mammal Ages respectively. Several computer programs were developed to aid in character analysis.

Hydrogeologic And Geochemical Factors Influencing The Impact Of A Chromium-Arsenic-Copper Wastewater Discharge On A Glacial Outwash Aquifer, Michael J. Gallagher

Masters Theses

A discharge of chromium-arsenic-copper laden wastewater occurred periodically from 1970 to 1980 at a wood preserving company located in southwestern Kalamazoo County, Michigan. As a result of this discharge, soils at the company site became contaminated with chromium, arsenic, and copper, and a local glacial outwash aquifer became contaminated with hexavalent chromium.

Soil samples collected from the discharge site were analyzed for clay-silt-sand-gravel content, organic matter, pH, clay mineralogy, and chromium, arsenic, copper, iron, and manganese content. Background soil samples were analyzed for most of the above catagories. Pearson r coefficients of correlation were calculated to determine the correlation of …

The Depositional History Of The Point Pleasant Member Of The Cynthiana Formation In Northern Kentucky, Gary J. Stefaniak

Masters Theses

Bioclastic limestones, siltstones, and shales of the Point Pleasant Member were deposited in a shallow marine environment immediately below normal effective wave base. High-energy conditions produced by storms lowered the effective wave base and stirred the bottom sediments and redistributed them into bedforms. The different types of contacts, distribution of the faunal groups, and fabrics permit inferences regarding energy levels and assignment of samples to a mode of deposition. Vertical and lateral trends were then deduced. High-energy conditions are believed to have occurred during Early and Late Point Pleasant time, whereas, low-energy conditions prevailed during deposition of the middle Point …

Petrology Of The Farmington Gabbro-Metagabbro Complex, North Carolina, James Thomas Harden

Masters Theses

The Farmington gabbro-metagabbro complex is located along the western margin of the Charlotte belt of North Carolina. At least twp or more intrusions occur within the complex. The Farmington gabbroic intrusion is postmetamorphic and contains plagioclase, hornblende, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and olivine. Small amounts of magnetite, ilmenite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, hematite, hercynitic spinel, and biotite occur. Textures are hypidiomorphic granular to hypidiomorphic inequigranular. Four types of gabbroic rocks are present; hornblende gabbronite, olivine-hornblende gabbronorite, hornblende norite, and olivine-hornblende norite, with olivine-hornblende gabbronorite predominating. A limited range of progressive differentiation is indicated by restricted increases in FeO/(FeO +MgO) ratios for mafic silicates …

Stratigraphy And Textural Analyses Of A Beach Ridge Complex, Cape Henry, Virginia, Daniel Leland Oyler

OES Theses and Dissertations

Eight lithological units, documented from the analyses of 26 boreholes, comprise five laterally extensive horizons in the subsurface of Cape Henry, Virginia. Interpretations of the environments of deposition for those units are based upon textural and compositional features, fossils, thickness and distribution of strata, and previous reports about late Tertiary and Quaternary deposits in nearby areas. The incised, Pliocene Chowan River Formation (Unit H) underlies Pleistocene Units F and G which are concentrated in a buried river valley beneath Cape Henry. Estuarine Units D and E resulted from a marine transgression of the study area during the early Holocene. The …

Tectonic Implications Of Late Tertiary Strata Exposed Along The Piankatank River, Eastern Virginia, Daniel Stephen Lane

OES Theses and Dissertations

Biostratigraphic analysis of Late Miocene and Pliocene strata along the Piankatank River in eastern Virginia exposes a juxtaposition of the Eastover and Yorktown Formations. This structure is situated on a NE trending alignment of geological, geomorphic, and geophysical features which run from southern Virginia to northern Delaware. Tectonic jointing in isolated sandstone bodies and fracture controlled drainage patterns provide further evidence of post-middle Pliocene tectonism in the region. The lateral spacing of this structure from the Stafford and Brandywine fault zones and other linear features on the Coastal Plain strongly implies that a structural similarity exists between the Piankatank structure …

Late Quaternary Vegetational History At Cupola Pond, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Southeastern Missouri, Everett Newman Smith Jr.

Masters Theses

A 12 meter core of lacustrine sediments from Cupola Pond, Ripley County, Missouri, Provides the first continuous record in the Ozark Plateaus Region of ecologic changes from full-glacial time to the present. From 17,100 to 15,350 yr B.P., forest communities were dominated by jack and/or red pine (northern Diploxylon Pinus) and spruce (Picea). A late-glacial, transitional forest of oak (Quercus), ash (Fraxinus), pine and spruce characterized the upland vegetation that occurred during a period of climatic amelioration between 15,350 and 12,300 yr B.P. The early Holocene period from 12,300 to 9,100 yr B.P. …

Palynology And Age Of The Alvord Creek Formation, Steens Mountain, Southeastern Oregon, Stephen F. Barnett

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The age of the Alvord Creek Formation of Steens Formation, southeastern Oregon, has been a center of controversy since Axelrod's 1944 paleobotanical assignment of a Lower Pliocene age to the tuffaceous leaf-bearing shales. This date varies from earlier determinations by Chaney and MacGinitie that the flora was Mascall (Upper Miocene) equivalent. However, it is more sharply contradicted by the report of a Middle Miocene (Barstovian) fauna in the apparently overlying Steens Basalt and by a 21.3 m.y. radiometric date obtained on a basalt flow 61 meters above the leaf-bearing beds.

Palynomorphs recovered from three exposures of the leaf-bearing beds show …

Geology, Alteration And Mineralization Of A Silicic Volcanic Center, Glass Buttes, Oregon, Michael James Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Glass Buttes, a Pliocene silicic volcanic complex within the High Lava Plains province of Oregon, was erupted approximately 5.0 to 5.8 million years ago. Geologic mapping revealed that the eastern portion of the complex is underlain by rhyolitic glass domes, flows and rare pyroclastis flows. Basalt flows are interlayered with and onlap the silicic glass. Younger basalt flows, erupted from local vents, overlie silicic glass and onlapping basalts.

The eastern end of Glass Buttes is hydrothermally altered at the surface; a weak geothermal anomaly coincides with the altered areas. Alteration, localized by northwest trending normal faults, occurs primarily as opalite …

Structure And Petrology Of Tertiary Volcanic Rocks In Parts Of Toms Cabin Spring And Lucin Nw Quadrangles (Box Elder Co.), Utah, Bruce Edward Scarbrough

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of late Tertiary rhyolitic and dacitic flows, domes, and minor pyroclastic rocks form an elongate volanic mass along the northwestern Utah-northeastern Nevada border. The structure of the flow banding and the linear arrangement of vents indicate that the mass represents a multi-sourced extrusive complex which erupted through many fissure-type conduits. A 39 km² area at the southern end of the mass was studied in detail in order to gain a better understanding of the eruptive nature and history of these Tertiary volcanic rocks. Age dating reveals that volcanism in the study area was episodic, and covered a …

Evaluation Of Low-Temperature Geothermal Potential In North-Central Box Elder County, Utah, Matthew C. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to continue the assessment of low-temperature geothermal resources in Utah started by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. The area of interest with in this report is north-central Box Elder County, Utah. Exploration techniques used included chemical analyses of water from wells and springs, temperature surveys, and temperature-depth measurements in unused wells within the study area. The highest water temperatures (31, 30, and 29°C) recorded in this research were located in three separate geographic regions, suggesting that no single warm water occurrence dominates the study area.

Total dissolved solid (TDS) concentrations ranged from 294 …

Petrology Of The Middle Jurassic Twin Creek Limestone, Lincoln And Sublette Counties, Southwestern Wyoming, David R. Raubvogel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Twin Creek Limestone of Middle Jurassic age was studied in the Tunp, Salt River, and Wyoming Ranges in southwestern Wyoming. Modern carbonate environments and their ancient analogs were compared with information obtained from field study and petrographic analysis of samples of the Twin Creek Limestone in order to delineate environments of deposition, paleogeography, and diagenetic history.

Six major lithofacies were recognized: (1) carbonate mudstone; (2) carbonate mudstone breccia; (3) fossiliferous wackestone; (4) packstone-grainstone; (5) terrigenous mudstone; and (6) sandstone. These lithofacies were deposited in a variety of environments, including outer shelf platforms (carbonate mudstone and fossiliferous wackestone), oolitic sand …

Petrology Of The Middle Cambrian Ute Formation, North-Central Utah And Southeastern Idaho, Edward James Deputy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Cambrian Ute Formation was studied in the Bear River Range and the Wellsville Mountains of north-central Utah and southeastern Idaho. The depositional textures and sedimentary structures found within the rocks were compared with similar modern sediments and ancient rocks to determine depositional environments, paleogeography, and diagenetic alterations.

The rocks of the Ute Formation were divided into five basic types. These five rock types were formed within four identifiable lithofacies: 1) elastic marine shelf; 2) carbonate marine shelf; 3) agitated shoal; and 4) quiet-water shoal.

The sequence of elastic and carbonate sediments is believed to have been deposited in …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Snowcrest Range, Beaverhead And Madison Counties, Montana, Mark Kenneth Sheedlo

Masters Theses

The Snowcrest Range was uplifted in Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary time as a consequence of thrusting in Precambrian basement and Phanerozoic cover rocks.

The Snowcrest-Greenhorn thrust system is associated with largescale overturned, eastward verging folds. Mean orientation of the thrust system is N.40°E., 35°N.W.. The trend of the thrust system and associated transverse faults appear to be controlled by earlier structures. Mesoscopic and microscopic analyses indicate that metamorphic basement rocks accommodated congressional strain largely by brittle faulting and cataclastic shearing. Kinematic indicators suggest that local stresses were directed east-southeastward.

Northeast-trending Neogene faults along the western flank of the range …

Fission Track Dating Of Detrital Zircons From The Scotland Sandstones, Barbados, West Indies, Suzanne Louise Baldwin

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Results of fission track dating of detrital zircons from the Scotland sandstones, Barbados, yield a mixture of ages with several strong groupings from 20-80 Ma, 200-350 Ma, and greater than 500 Ma. Metamict grains were assumed to fall into the greater than 500 Ma population.
The youngest population indicates that the Scotland beds, previously dated by paleontologic methods as Eocene, may actually be as young as late Oligocene. These ages better constrain the timing of deposition for these sediments and support the proposal that the late middle Eocene - early Oligocene Oceanic Fm has overthrust the Scotland beds. This population …

The Influence Of Oceanic Transform Boundaries On The Generation And Evolution Of Oceanic Lithosphere, David G. Gallo

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The first-order geologic and morphologic relationships at, along and proximal to ridge-transform-ridge plate boundaries are used to construct an empirical and speculative tectonic model. The geometry of a ridge-transform intersection necessitates the juxtaposition of relatively cold, thick lithosphere against the truncated end of an accreting plate boundary. The cold face of lithosphere cools the adjacent wedge of asthenosphere rising beneath the axis of accretion and restricts the amount of partial melting thus attenuating the amount of basaltic melt segregated from the asthenosphere per unit time. The manifestation of this cold edge effect is a thinner oceanic crust. At depth, upper …

Structural Analysis Of Deformed Carboniferous Strata, Mispec Beach, Southern New Brunswick, Lauren Magin Bradley

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Mispec Beach, New Brunswick is a coastal exposure of deformed Carboniferous sedimentary rocks. Late Paleozoic deformation in the region is thought to have occured in a restraining bend in the Cobiquid - Chedabucto fault.
Within this exposure, two main generations of deformation are recognized. The first deformation is associated with slaty cleavage development, pebble elongation, and the formation of quartz veins. The second generation structure is a moderately developed crenulation cleavage. The diversity of structures present at this outcrop allows for a qualitative determination of the principal axes of stress and strain associated with the first generation structures.

The Tectonic Evolution Of The Eastern Yukon Tanana Upland, Alaska, Grant W. Cushing

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Field, structural, and isotopic studies in the southeastern Eagle Quadrangle reveal a complex Mesozoic history involving major metamorphism, fold development, thrusting, and igneous intrusion. These events may be related to the accretion of a terrane, possibly Stikine, to the North American continental margin.
40Ar/39Ar incremental heating experiments on metamorphic minerals from amphibolite facies rocks reveal Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic plateau ages interpreted as the age of major metamorphism. Large scale northeast trending folds within these rocks formed after the major metamorphism and before the intrusion of an undeformed, unmetamorphosed cross-cutting dike in Middle Jurassic. These folds probably developed in …

The Geology Of Ophiolitic And Adjoining Rocks Of Chagnon Mountain, Southern Quebec, Janet M. Harris

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Chagnon Mountain is located near the southern end of the Baie Verte-Brompton Line in the Eastern Townships of southern Quebec. The lithologic units in the area of study, from west to east and going up structure, are: gabbro, quartz-diorite, diabase, volcanics, the St. Daniel Formation and the Peasley Pond Conglomerate of the Glenbrooke Group. All these rocks have been metamorphosed to the greenschist facies. Contacts between the plutonic rocks are irregular and gradational indicating only one parent magma. Diabase dikes are present in the diabase unit and in the volcanics indicating the dikes acted as feeders to the volcanics. Geochemical …

Some Aspects Of Deformation Fabrics Along The Highland/Lowland Boundary, Northwest Adirondacks, New York State, Peter C. Hall

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Geology of the Whippoorwill Corners Area, NW Adirondacks, NYS
In the northwestern Adirondack Mountains of New York State lies a 110 km long, 0-5 km wide topographic and lithologic boundary which divides the Adirondack Highlands from the Northwest Lowlands. Structurally this boundary is apparently a highly strained zone of intensely foliated and lineated rocks. Within the zone mineral grains are highly recrystallized and of fine grain size with respect to rocks outside the zone, quartz becomes undulose, and mineral assemblages frequently exhibit retrograde characteristics. Despite the apparent high strain no demonstrable offset may be seen across the zone. Furthermore, …

Chatham Fault Zone, Old Chatham-East Chatham, New York: Mesostructures And Microstructures: Their Spatial And Age Relationships, Jorge Mora M.

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Detailed studies in rocks of Mettawee (Late Precambrian? to Early Cambrian) and Walloomsac (Middle Ordovician) slates between Old Chatham and East Chatham, New York, have shown that these rocks were intensely deformed during the Taconic orogeny and a later deformation event(?). Two generations of structures are clearly recognized in the area. The first generation (G1) includes tight west-verging folds whose axial plane foliation is the regional foliation slaty cleavage (S1). These structures are considered synchronous with the regional metamorphism of the Taconic orogeny and correlative with those structures belonging to the D2 deformation event proposed by Ratcliffe (1979) and Rowley …

Provenance Study Of The Middle Ordovician Sandstones Of New York And Western Vermont, Stephen A. Tanski

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Medial Ordovician rocks exposed in westernmost New England and eastern New York State include thick sequences of marine sandstones which are part of a belt extending from Newfoundland to Tennessee. A petrographic study was made of 237 samples distributed across the entire outcrop belt (approx. 250 km. north-south along strike and 190 km. east-west across strike).
Two distinct types of sandstone are recognized, the oldest, and most widespread, is a deep water lithic wacke deposited by turbidity currents and found interbedded with shale (flysch). The younger sandstone is found only in the southeastern part of the study area and is …

Tiltmeter Analysis Of Mount St. Helens, Skamania County, Washington, Edward Charles Brown

Dissertations and Theses

Mount St. Helens returned to an active eruptive state March 20, 1980. Since then explosive and dome building eruptions have caused major topographic changes to the mountain and surrounding drainages. Monitoring of the southern side of the mountain by six tiltmeters at distances between 6 km and 12 km was conducted during the period of July 1, 1980 to December 31, 1980. Records obtained from the tiltmeters were analyzed and compared to data from precision geodetic surveys.

Quaternary Volcanology Of The West Crater-Soda Peaks Area, Southern Washington Cascade Range, David R. Polivka

Dissertations and Theses

The West Crater-Soda Peaks area covering about 100 km is located 35 km southeast of Mount St. Helens in southern Washington State. It is one of several Quaternary monogenetic High Cascade volcanic centers overlying the Ohaaapecosh Formation of the Western Cascade Group and interstratified glacial till.These volcanic centers are the most westerly of the range.

Late Cenozoic Landforms, Stratigraphy And History Of Sea Level Oscillations Of Southeastern Virginia And Northeastern North Carolina, Pamela Crowson Peebles

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A depositional model accounting for the stratigraphic sequences which accumulate during a marine transgression across a dissected coastal plain aids in understanding the geologic history of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Application of this model to the Shirley Formation (middle Pleistocene) and the Sedgefield and Lynnhaven members of the Tabb Formation (late Pleistocene) allows delineation of (1) the facies within, (2) the areal extent of, and (3) the landforms associated with these lithostratigraphic units. Facies within each lithostratigraphic unit consist of (1) a vertical succession from local, basal, channel-fill deposits and coarse, basal, lag deposits which grade upward into …

Relation Of Bitumen To Ore In The Magmont West Orebody, Southeast Missouri, Mark Alan Marikos

Masters Theses

"Bitumen in the form of oil blebs from the Magmont West orebody of the Viburnum Trend was examined and analysed in an attempt to relate hydrocarbon distribution and origin to ore genesis. Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen percentages were determined by elemental analyses. Trace element composition was determined by emmission spectroscopy and the composition of the bitumen was calculated with respect to aromatic hydrocarbons, saturated hydrocarbons and NSO (nitrogen-sulfur-oxygen) components. The bitumen and kerogen from associated shale samples were evaluated by Rock-Eval pyrolysis and pyrolysis-gas chromatography.

The bitumen was calculated to be approximately 40 to 50 percent aromatic and …

Oil Producing Upper Cherokee And Lower Marmaton (Pennsylvanian) Channel Sandstones Of Jackson And Cass Counties, Missouri, Stephen Thomas Carroll

Masters Theses

"Approximately 240 gamma ray-neutron logs were interpreted and correlated in an attempt to isolate separate channels collectively referred to as "Squirrel" sands in the upper Cherokee and lower Marmaton (Pennsylvanian) rocks of Jackson and Cass counties, Missouri. Isopach maps were prepared for two of the identifiable fluvial sandstones and a structure map was drawn on the laterally extensive Anna Shale.

The term "Squirrel" has been applied to as many as five different sandstone packages, and thus, has been the source of a great deal of confusion. In an attempt to sort out the confusion this thesis recognizes and defines three …

Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of Paleogene Arkosic And Volcaniclastic Strata, Johnson Creek-Chambers Creek Area, Southern Cascade Range, Washington, Warren Jon Winters

Dissertations and Theses

Over 1150 m of middle to late Eocene nonmarine arkose, lithic arkose, mudstone, and siltstone, referred to here as the Chambers Creek beds, are int~r.stratified with, and overlain by over 1600 m of late Eocene-Oligocsne(?) andesitic volcaniclastic and subordinate volcanic rocks assigned to the Ohanapecosh Formation, in a dissected structural high in the southern Washington Cascade Range, about 18 km south-southeast of the town of Packwood.

History And Origin Of Debris Torrents In The Smith Creek Drainage, Whatcom County, Washington, Tim L. Syverson

WWU Graduate School Collection

Four debris torrent events have occurred in the Smith Creek drainage since the turn of the century. In 1917, 1949, 1971, and 1983, debris torrents transported large quantities of logs out of the basin onto the delta. Inventories of air photographs of the drainage before and after the three most recent events, combined with field observations after the 1983 event, show that debris torrents in the Smith Creek drainage are closely related to mass movements. Mass movements provide the momentum necessary to mobilize debris in stream channels during periods of heavy run-off, resulting in the formation of debris torrents. Debris …