Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Potential Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs In Latvia, Santis Limez

Masters Theses

The Baltic state of Latvia, produces no natural gas; all natural gas consumed is imported. In order to address future gas needs in Latvia, this study was undertaken to provide geological background and select sites with the best gas storage potential and reduce costs of more detailed field analyses in the next phase of gas storage development. Russia is the sole natural gas supplier and delivers the gas to Latvia via transmission pipelines. The Inchukalns underground gas storage field is the only underground gas storage field in the Baltic states. Although this structure accommodates current needs, projections show additional storage …

Reconstruction Of Wetland Hydrology Dynamics Using Tree Rings, Allan P. Hascall Iii

Dissertations

Increment core samples were collected and examined to test the hypothesis that the history of punctuated or intermediate-term changes in wetland soil-moisture conditions can be reconstructed from the annual growth-ring record of trees. The hypothesis is based on plant physiological principles that indicate a relationship between water surplus stress and impaired physiological activity that could lead to reduced growth.

Sampling sites were selected for their ostensible historic hydrologic variability and the availability of documentation of hydrologic disturbances. A conceptual model was developed by which trees were sampled along a hydrotopographic gradient for comparison of radial stem growth in uplands versus …

The Effects Of Organic Matter Rich Topsoil On The Germination Growth And Metal Uptake Of Corn (Zea Mays) Grown In Flue Dust Contaminated Soil, Christopher Allen Impellitteri

OES Theses and Dissertations

The large biomass of corn (Zea mays) and promising results from a previous experiment (Chlopecka and Adriano, 1995) concerning metal uptake by corn indicate that corn may be a good candidate for phytoremediation of trace metal contaminated soil. Appling soil (acid, thermic, typic paleudult) was treated with increasing levels of a metal rich flue dust based on Zn concentration (0, 150, 300, 600, 1200, and 2400 mg/kg). Four replicates at each Zn treatment level were either limed to pH 6.3-6.5 and covered with a two inch thick layer of organic matter rich topsoil (OM), unlimed and covered with …

Ice Transport In The Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Using Detrital Fe Oxide Grain Composition, Duan Li

OES Theses and Dissertations

Nine Fe oxide mineral types (45pm-250pm) separated from 54 glacial and glaciomarine sediment samples from the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) of Canada were analyzed for 12 elements by electron microprobe to determine the dispersal patterns of ice rafted debris in this area. Both cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis (DFA) on the chemical compositions were used to match each detrital Fe oxide grain to a source The entire QEI area can be subdivided into eight unique areas based on the elemental composition of the Fe oxide minerals. These subdivisions are similar to the source areas based on the assemblage of …

Biostratigraphic Analysis Of Southern Florida's Plio-Pleistocene Shell Beds, Dalton L. Rasmussen

OES Theses and Dissertations

Four molluscan assemblage zones in southern Florida corresponding to the Pinecrest Sand Member of the Tamiami Formation, and the Caloosahatchee, Bermont and Fort Thompson shell beds were identified following quantitative and qualitative analyses of the fossil molluscan fauna. Twenty-eight bulk sediment samples collected from 16 localities across southern Florida were processed for fossil material, and yielded nearly 60,000 specimens belonging to 311 species. A Q-mode cluster analysis compared sediment samples on the basis of 188 species whose abundances had been converted to binary presence-absence form. The cluster analysis was run four times using the Jaccard and Dice similarity coefficients as …

40Ar/39 Ar Geochronology Of The Lowland Creek Volcanic Field And Its Temporal Relations With Other Eocene Volcanic Areas, Vladimir Olegovich Ispolatov

OES Theses and Dissertations

Exposures of the Eocene Lowland Creek Volcanics (LCV) cover an area of 2000 km² in southwestern Montana, and consist of basal elastic deposits, felsic tuffs, and felsic and intermediate lavas with an aggregate thickness of about 2 km. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates show that volcanic activity lasted for at least 4.2 million years (52.7- 48.5 Ma), or even longer (4.5-4.7 million years: from 53.0-53.2 Ma to 48.5 Ma). During evolution of the volcanic field, early explosive volcanism was gradually replaced by extrusive activity. During the transition period (52.7-51.5 Ma), the two volcanic styles coexisted.

The evolution of …

Middle Shoreface Intervals: Evidence Of Barred Nearshore Systems In He Stratigraphic Record, James V. Gravette

OES Theses and Dissertations

An interpretation for middle shoreface (MSF) intervals was developed by comparing MSF intervals from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Blackhawk Formation, east-central Utah, with conceptual models proposed for modern nearshore areas. Specifically, MSF intervals identified within the Sunnyside Member were compared with MSF intervals identified within the Spring Canyon (Kamola and Van Wagoner, 1995) and the Aberdeen (Kamola, unpublished data) members.

A comparison of MSF interval data revealed that MSF intervals occur stratigraphically between upper and lower shore face deposits, disrupting the standard vertical succession for nearshore marine deposits (consisting of offshore, lower shore face, upper shore face, and foreshore deposits). …

Elevation As A Control Of Boulder Stream Formation In The Blue Ridge Province Of Virginia, Marc D. Zamkotowicz

OES Theses and Dissertations

Within four study areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, boulder streams formed by periglacial processes carpet the bottoms of most high-altitude first-order valleys. The geomorphic indicators of periglacial formation in these long, linear accumulations of bouldery colluvium - the presence of vertical clasts, gradational upper contacts with talus deposits, confinement within valleys, and hump-like cross sectional profiles - were present in all areas mapped and in most individual boulder streams. The minimum critical elevation for boulder stream formation increases from north to south across Virginia, from 150 m in elevation in northern Virginia to 1500 m in southwestern …

Analysis Of Glasses Present In Quartz And Apatite Phenocrysts From Ordovician K-Bentonites In The Mohawk Valley, Ny, Stefanie Dannenmann

Geology Theses and Dissertations

More than 20 bentonites occur in the Middle Ordovician black shales of the Utica Formation that outcrop along tributaries to the Mohawk River in New York State. Pristine melt inclusions within quartz and apatite phenocrysts are commonly found in at least 40% of the bentonites. Constraints on magmatic processes can be obtained by examining the major-, minor- and trace-element variations among different melt inclusions in quartz and apatite phenocrysts from individual bentonites. The melt inclusions in apatite range in composition from rhyodacitic to rhyolitic, while those in quartz are high-silica rhyolites. Most bentonites within the Middle Ordovician sequence in New …

Pre-Thrust Normal Faults And Post-Tectonic Micas In The Taconic Range Of West-Central Vermont, Nicholas W. Hayman

Geology Theses and Dissertations

New geologic maps show that the Champlain Thrust System traces continuously between Shoreham and Benson, Vermont. The Champlain Thrust System consists of at least three internally imbricated thrust slices in continental shelf facies quartzites and carbonates. From north to south there is a structurally controlled thinning of the Champlain Thrust System, and a climbing in stratigraphic level by the thrusts. Within the Champlain Thrust System are a set of across-strike structures which create offsets in the thrusts and the surrounding lithic map unit boundaries. These structures function as lateral ramps in the thrust system geometry and bound thrust duplexes. Often …

Spatial, Geostatistical, And Fractal Measures Of Seafloor Microtopography Across The Eel River Shelf, Off Northern California, George Randall. Cutter

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Characterization Of An Amiid Species From The Fort Union Rock Formation Of The Early Paleocene, Alexis Penot

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Chemistry And Environmental Implications Of Thio-Red And 2,4,6-Trimercaptotriazine Compounds, Kevin R. Henke

Theses and Dissertations

Many compounds, including Thio-Red® and 2,4,6-trimercaptotriazine, trisodium salt (TMT-55), have been marketed to precipitate mercury and other heavy metals from water, including contaminated ground waters. For the products to be effective, information is needed on the chemistry of the products, how they precipitate metals from aqueous solutions, and the chemistries and stabilities of the precipitates.

CS32-, HS-, and S2- are the dominant sulfur species in Thio-Red®. They precipitate heavy metals from water as sulfides (e.g., HgS, PbS, and ZnS). Thio-Red® also contains traces of poisonous carbon disulfide (CS2). Additional CS2 could form from reactions between dissolved heavy metals and CS32-. …

Knickpoint Analysis Of Streams In North Dakota, South Dakota, And Nebraska, Trent D. Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of stream profiles, seismic reflection studies, engineering studies, and historical earthquakes indicates uplift in south-central South Dakota and north-central Nebraska over the last 5-10 ma. The purpose of this study was to determine if this uplift could be detected by constructing topographic profiles along, and in close proximity to several streams in this region. The Cannonball River, ND, was used to compare the streams in South Dakota and Nebraska to a stream beyond the affected area.

Data for the profiles were collected from 7 .5 minute topographic maps as well as GPS surveys. Abrupt changes in slope (irregularities) were …

Potential For Coastal Flooding Due To Coseismic Subsidence In The Central Cascadia Margin, Elson T. Barnett

Dissertations and Theses

Interpretations made from compilation of existing core and cutbank data for Oregon and Washington are used to evaluate the potential flooding impact from regional coseismic subsidence. Estimates of regional subsidence are based on tidal level indicators including plant macrofossils, peat development, and diatoms. A compilation of existing late Holocene stratigraphic records shows multiple burial events in all bays of Oregon, however some coastal sites in central Oregon show continuous submergence. Tests of tidal level indicators using modern Cascadia wetlands indicate that paleosubsidence can be estimated to 0.0 ± 0.5m, 1.0 ±0.5m, and 2 m ± 0.5m. An AMS date from …

Structure, Metamorphism, And Geochronology Along The Southern Margin Of The Breakenridge Orthogneiss, Coast Range, Southern British Columbia, John A. (John Andrew) Feltman

WWU Graduate School Collection

The Breakenridge orthogneiss is located at the southern end of the Coast Plutonic Complex, in the southwest Canadian Cordillera. It consists of sheeted orthogneiss sills and metamorphosed country rock folded into a tight, upright antiform. The deformational and metamorphic history along the southern margin of this structure is the focus of this study.

The orthogneiss is in original intrusive contact with enveloping metavolcanic rocks of the Jura-Cretaceous Slollicum Schist. A new U-Pb zircon age of 103.8 ± 0.5 Ma, together with a published age of 96 Ma (Parrish and Monger, 1992), establishes an episode of igneous intrusion and crystallization between …

A Comparison Of The November 1990 And November 1995 Floods Along The Main Stem Nooksack River, Whatcom County, Washington, Ryan T. (Ryan Travis) Houser

WWU Graduate School Collection

During November 1990 two floods on the Nooksack River breached flood control structures near the city of Everson, sending floodwater into the Sumas Overflow. The Sumas Overflow is a low area lying north of the Nooksack River stretching from Everson to the Vedder River in British Columbia, Canada. The 1990 floods resulted in more than $7 million in damage to the Sumas Overflow. The economic impacts of this loss prompted the construction of a levee extension to protect the Everson area from inundation.

Many residents of the Nooksack River floodplain, including Everson Mayor Matt Lagerway, claimed that the levee extension …