Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Debris Flow Susceptibility Map For Mount Rainier, Washington Based On Debris Flow Initiation Zone Characteristics From The November, 2006 Climate Event In The Cascade Mountains, Kassandra Lindsey

Dissertations and Theses

In November 2006 a Pineapple Express rainstorm moved through the Pacific Northwest generating record precipitation, 22 to 50 cm in the two-day event on Mt. Rainier. Copeland (2009) and Legg (2013) identified debris flows in seven drainages in 2006; Inter Fork, Kautz, Ohanapecosh, Pyramid, Tahoma, Van Trump, and West Fork of the White River. This study identified seven more drainages: Carbon, Fryingpan, Muddy Fork Cowlitz, North Puyallup, South Mowich, South Puyallup, and White Rivers. Twenty-nine characteristics, or attributes, associated with the drainages around the mountain were collected. Thirteen were used in a regression analysis in order to develop a susceptibility …

Submarine Channel Evolution Linked To Rising Salt Dome, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf Of Mexico, Rachel C. Carter

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

By examining halokinetics and channel evolution in a deep-water system, we investigate how submarine channel morphology is affected by changing seascape linked to diapirism. The study area is located in Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico (GOM), situated directly off the continental slope in a prominent salt dome region. Interactions of salt domes with submarine channels in the GOM are poorly documented. Utilizing 3D seismic data and seismic geomorphology techniques, a long-lived Plio-Pleistocene submarine channel system has been investigated to develop a relationship between variable phases of salt movement and plan-form morphology of preserved channels.

We suggest that halokinetics acts as …

Los Morteros: Early Monumentality And Environmental Change In The Lower Chao Valley, Northern Peruvian Coast, Ana Cecilia Mauricio Llonto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This doctoral dissertation presents the results of archaeological and geoarchaeological studies carried out at the site of Los Morteros and the Archaeological Complex of Pampa de las Salinas, lower Chao Valley, North Coast of Peru, between September 2012 and July 2014. This research focuses on the study of the mound-shaped site of Los Morteros and the environmental contexts in which this site developed. Previous excavations at the site considered Los Morteros as a “stabilized dune” whose top was used as cemetery for pre-pottery people around cal. 5000 B.P (Cardenas 1995, 1999). However, geo-radar explorations of the mound in 2006 and …

Petroleum Play Study Of The Keathley Canyon, Gulf Of Mexico, Jean Pierre Malbrough

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Beneath Keathley Canyon (KC) off the Southern Coast of Louisiana and Texas, allochthonous salt bodies have attained thicknesses of over 7620 m (25000 feet), providing excellent seals and migration pathways for hydrocarbons produced by post-rift sedimentary deposition. This study analyzes a small portion of the KC area, utilizing Petrel Seismic software and well information from the KC102 (Tiber) well.

An intra-Miocene wedge, expressed beneath salt, may provide information about movement of allochthonous salt over Wilcox sands, sediment compaction, and hydrocarbon pathways. Progradational sedimentation is the driving force which leads to faulting in the early Miocene, allowing Jurassic salt to rise, …

Recent Discoveries In The Ni-Cu-Pge Bearing Trill And Parkin Offset Dykes, Sudbury Impact Structure, Canada, Adam B. Coulter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Sudbury structure hosts world class Ni-Cu-PGE deposits that have been mined, explored and studied for over 130 years. The structure is widely recognized as the erosional remnant of a 1.85 Ga 200- to 250-km tectonically altered multi-ring impact basin located in central Ontario, Canada. The focus of this investigation is on the Trill and Parkin Offset dykes. This study provides updated regional scale geologic maps, detailed geologic maps of newly exposed sections, geochemistry, sulphide analysis and an analysis of the inclusion population and orientation within the dykes. We conclude, the dyke phases display remarkable geochemical homogeneity, the Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization …

Mineralogy And Geochemistry Of Late Archean And Paleoproterozoic Granites And Pegmatites In The Northern Penokean Terrane Of Marquette And Dickinson Counties, Michigan, Christopher M. Johnson, Christopher M. Van Daalen

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on mineralogy, geochemistry, and origin of eight pegmatites and two spatially associated granites of Late Archean and Paleoproterozoic ages located in Marquette and Dickinson Counties, Michigan. Biotite geochemistry reveals that both granites and all pegmatites are peraluminous and have an orogenic signature. However, bulk composition reveals the Humboldt granite is a peraluminous A-type granite and the Bell Creek granite is a peraluminous mix between I-, S-, and A-type granites. The Republic Mine pegmatite appears to be geochemically similar to the Bell Creek granite and Grizzly pegmatite. The Crockley pegmatite is genetically related to the Humboldt granite. The …

Quaternary Chronology And Stratigraphy Of Mickey Springs, Oregon, Leslie Allen Mowbray

Dissertations and Theses

Mickey Springs in the Alvord Desert, southeast Oregon, is analogous to other Basin and Range hydrothermal systems where the requisite conditions of heat source and permeable pathways are met through crustal thinning due to normal faulting. This study examines the morphology and lifespan of near-surface spring features through use of ground penetrating radar, thermoluminescence (TL) dating, and elevation modeling. Duration of hydrothermal activity at Mickey Springs has not previously been determined, and age determinations of sinter at the site are conflicting. The reason for and timing of this change in silica saturation in the hydrothermal fluid has not been resolved. …

The Mistastin Lake Impact Structure As A Terrestrial Analogue Site For Lunar Science And Exploration, Marianne M. Mader

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The impact cratering record on the Moon is important for many reasons, from understanding early solar system chronology to probing the lunar interior. In order to maximize scientific return from future lunar missions, it is useful to: 1) study terrestrial impact craters to better understand impact processes and products, and 2) develop appropriate human and robotic exploration strategies aligned with geological goals.

This research shows that the intermediate-size Mistastin Lake impact structure, in northern Labrador, Canada, is an unparalleled lunar analogue site, which includes both an anorthositic target and an almost complete suite of impact lithologies, including proximal ejecta deposits. …

Morphological, Structural And Spectral Mapping Of The Central Uplifts Of The Alga And Verlaine Craters, Mars, Bianca D'Aoust

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Impact cratering is a ubiquitous geological process that has shaped planetary bodies of the Solar System and beyond. While the impact cratering record on Earth has been poorly preserved, the Martian surface is characterized by a very old and cratered terrain. Central uplifts within complex impact craters are of particular interest as they expose deep-seated material, some of which may correspond to samples of the early Martian crust. Central uplift formation is, however, still a poorly understood geological process. This research investigated the origin of the exposed bedrock in the central uplifts of two Martian complex craters as well as …

Bacterial Diversity And Function Within An Epigenic Cave System And Implications For Other Limestone Cave Systems, Kathleen Merritt Brannen-Donnelly

Doctoral Dissertations

There are approximately 48,000 known cave systems in the United States of America, with caves formed in carbonate karst terrains being the most common. Epigenic systems develop from the downward flow of meteoric water through carbonate bedrock and the solutional enlargement of interconnected subsurface conduits. Despite carbonate karst aquifers being globally extensive and important drinking water sources, microbial diversity and function are poorly understood compared to other Earth environments. After several decades of research, studies have shown that microorganisms in caves affect water quality, rates of carbonate dissolution and precipitation, and ecosystem nutrition through organic matter cycling. However, limited prior …

Geochemical And Petrological Characterization Of The Back Forty Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Anthony Robert Boxleiter

Masters Theses

The Back Forty Zn-Au deposit is the eastern-most Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposit in the Penokean Volcanic Belt (PVB). It is the only VMS deposit found in Michigan, and is located along the east side of the Menominee River in Menominee County (45°26'57.5"N, 87°49'43.2"W). The Back Forty is the most zinc-enriched, copper depleted deposit among the major VMS deposits within the PVB that include Flambeau, Crandon, Bend, and Lynne. This work constitutes the first sulfur isotope study on the Back Forty VMS deposit.

The Back Forty is characterized by massive, semi-massive, disseminated and stringer sulfide mineralization hosted within felsic-dominated volcanic …

Petrological And Geochemical Evaluation Of The Sturgeon Falls Intrusive Body, Jonathan Michael Haynes

Masters Theses

The Sturgeon Falls Intrusive Body (SFIB) is a gabbroic intrusion located along the Michigan-Wisconsin border just south of the town of Norway, MI. The SFIB is bounded to the north by the Niagara Shear Zone and the Michigamme Formation (Schulz and Cannon, 2006) and to the south by an unnamed thrust fault zone and the Quinnesec Formation (Sims and Schulz, 1993). Field mapping has shown that the SFIB is composed almost entirely of metagabbro metamorphosed to greenschist facies, with isolated outcrops of clinopyroxenite, which are thought to be xenoliths.

The origin of the SFIB is controversial. Schulz and LeBerge (2003) …

Soft-Sediment Deformation And Dune Collapse In The Navajo Sandstone, Colby Ford

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The Canyon Overlook Trail of Zion National Park follows an outcrop of Navajo Sandstone, which displays a uniquely well-exposed assemblage of features associated with failure of the lee face of a large eolian dune, and run-out over an expanse of interdune sediments downwind of that bedform. Exposed features include dramatic folds in the interdune succession and a stacked series of thrust sheets incorporating both interdune and overlying dune deposits. Thrust surfaces display consistent strikes, parallel to those of undeformed foresets, and incorporate zones of brittle failure and fluid deformation, including folds overturned in the direction of foreset dip. These features …

Depositional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of Niagaran-Lower Salina Reef Complex Reservoirs Of The Guelph Formation, Michigan Basin, Matthew J. Rine

Masters Theses

Hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Niagara-Lower Salina Reef Complex in the Michigan Basin have been extensively studied since the early 1960’s. These reservoirs host an immense hydrocarbon resource, existing as closely-spaced, highly-compartmentalized reservoirs that have produced >500 million barrels of oil and 2.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Previous studies depict these “pinnacle reefs” as tall, symmetrical towers with a random distribution of facies. This study utilizes abundant core data (32 cores, 20-acre spacing), thin-section petrography, and petrophysical wire-line logs to reconstruct the geometry, facies distributions, depositional history, and sequence stratigraphy of the Columbus III Reef Complex within the Southern …

Stratigraphic And Structural Analysis Of Middle Atoka Formation In Aetna Gas Field, Franklin, Johnson And Logan Counties, Arkansas, Ikramuddin Bahram

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Arkoma basin is a prolific natural gas basin. The defining feature of this basin is the Atoka Formation that was deposited in the early-middle Pennsylvanian. The Atoka is held equivalent to the tectonic and structural evolution of the basin. This study focuses on one of the many gas fields in the Arkoma Basin in Arkansas to assess the stratigraphic and structural evolution that the strata in this particular field display.

Aetna Gas Field extends from T. 8N. R. 27 W to T. 9 N, R. 27 W and T. 8 N, R. 26 W to 8N, R. 27. Geographically, Aetna …

Reservoir Characterization And Depositional System Of The Atokan Grant Sand, Fort Worth Basin, Texas, Victoria Wood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Atokan Grant Sands are a tight gas sand play that would add new reserves to the Fort Worth Basin. The Fort Worth Basin is located in north-central Texas just west of Dallas, Texas. Within the basin, the study area consists of Denton, Wise, Tarrant, and Parker Counties in Texas. The basin is bounded to the north by the Red River Arch, to the west by the Bend Arch, to the south by the Llano uplift, to the east by the Ouachita structural front, and to the northeast by the Muenster Arch. The Grant Sands are approximately 1,500 ft stratigraphically …

Addressing Potential Risks And Challenges Of Co2 Geologic Sequestration, Ethan Guyant

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon Capture and Geologic Storage is a viable technology to reduce the concentration of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, however there remains challenges and risks associated with implementing this technology. One of the challenges, and the focus of Chapter 2, is maintaining the injectivity of the reservoir throughout the entire injection period of a project. While potential risks include the pressurization of the reservoir and the leakage of CO2 and/or brine out of the storage reservoir which is the focus of Chapter 3. A consequence of injecting dry-supercritical CO2 is that it results in salt precipitation in the near well …

Ediacaran Ocean Redox Evolution, Swapan Kumar Sahoo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The relative role that environmental versus intrinsic biological factors played in

shaping the history of life on Earth is a fundamental but unanswered question in the

natural sciences. Most famously, it has been heavily debated if the emergence and

diversification of early animals during the Ediacaran Period (ca. 635–541 Ma) was tied to

a rise in atmospheric-oceanic oxygen levels. Temporally discontinuous geochemical data and patchy fossil record in literature are inadequate to chart the Ediacaran redox history and its causal relationship with the biotic evolution. My PhD study aims for a multiproxy geochemical record within a well-established stratigraphic framework of …

High-Resolution Correlation Of A Time-Bounded Unit Of The Pisco Formation, Peru, Daniel J. O'Hare

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Correlation of beds in the Pisco Basin across significant distances is problematic and has not yet been effectively achieved. I chose to examine an interval bounded by two time markers, an 40Ar/39Ar-dated white tuff at the base and an 40Ar/39Ar-dated tuff couplet at the top. This interval was chosen because of the continuity and excellent exposure of the tuff beds at six distinct locations in a linear transect 30 km long. Correlation of units was achieved through 40Ar/39Ar dating, lithology, sedimentary structures, and magnetic susceptibility. The vertical and lateral variability in lithology, fossil assemblages, structures, and sequences was examined in …

Using Foraminifera Shell Geochemistry To Test Proxies For Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Catherine Hudson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Rewetting Of Artificially Desiccated Soils: Effect Of Gravity On Vapor-Phase Diffusion, Taylor Arland Ball

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Soil desiccation has been suggested as an economically viable alternative for stabilizing water soluble contaminants in deep vadose zones such as at the Hanford Site. This approach would result in a large volume of the vadose zone being dried out in an effort to eliminate the transport mechanism for aqueous phase contaminants. Protecting the top and sides of the desiccated vadose zone from rewetting is a realistic possibility; however, it would be extremely difficult to restrict the upward migration of water from beneath the desiccated zone. One scenario related to the rewetting of the desiccated soil involves the upward migration …

Glass Shards At Pinnacle Point Rock Shelter 5-~6, South Africa: Are They From The Last Super-~Eruption Of Toba?, Amber Elizabeth Ciravolo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cryptotephra, in the form of individual glass shards, have been discovered in paleoarchaeological site PP5-6 North at Pinnacle Point, Western Cape, South Africa. This marks the first documentation of cryptotephra in a South African paleoarchaeological site. PP5-6 North is a rock shelter in the cliffs along the coast of the Western Cape and is one of a series of caves and rock shelters at Pinnacle Point that were inhabited by early modern humans. The presence of cryptotephra at PP5-6 is an important discovery in terms of tephra preservation in cave deposits as well as the possibility of tephra being present …

Characterization Of Gold And Related Mineralization At The North Bullion Carlin System, Railroad Project, A Nevada Carlin-~Type Gold Prospect, Melanie Nicole Newton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A study of the North Bullion Carlin system, a Nevada Carlin-type gold prospect located on trend with the large Carlin-type gold deposits (CTGD) of the Carlin Trend, identified characteristics of ore and alteration mineralization, mineral paragenesis, and pyrite and whole rock geochemistry that are similar to characteristics that typify Carlin-type gold deposits. The North Bullion Carlin system is hosted in Devonian shelf carbonates and the Mississippian overlap assemblage, host rocks that are different from typical CTGD shelf-slope carbonate assemblage host rocks. The mineralogy and ore-stage gold-bearing pyrite rims at North Bullion are not as well developed as they are in …

Testing Established Models Of Hydrothermal Fluid Distribution Around Porphyry Deposits: The Application Of Fluid Inclusion Research To Porphyry Deposit Exploration, Wyatt Moyer Bain

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Kabba porphyry copper prospect in northwestern Arizona contains two zones of porphyry style mineralization and alteration, which are spatially separated by a north-south trending normal fault. These two zones are referred to as the Kabba footwall and hanging wall and are hypothesized to represent the root and intermediate depth levels of the same porphyry-like hydrothermal system, respectively. If this hypothesis is correct, then fluid inclusions found in the hanging wall and footwall should have the physical and chemical characteristics of fluid inclusions in the root and intermediate depth levels of other known porphyry deposits. Vein and alteration petrography, fluid …

Superimposed And Auxiliary Dunes Of The Northern Namib Sand Sea: A Ground-Penetrating Radar Study, Clayton K. Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding modern features allows for their use as analogues for understanding the environments of the past and even environments on other planetary bodies. This study uses Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) to image the near surface sedimentary structures on a large linear dune in the northern Namib Sand Sea and image the sedimentary structure of an auxiliary dune. GPR data was collected using a 200 MHz antenna with a continuous scan method and was processed by removing direct arrival, gain balancing, migration and more which produced the highest resolution imagery from this region to date. Large dune data was analyzed to determine …

Cooling Before Super-Eruption: No Role For Rejuvenation In The Cottonwood Wash Tuff Magma Body, Southern Great Basin Ignimbrite Province, Utah And Nevada, Keryn Tobler Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The model of rejuvenation of a near-solidus crystal mush to produce large volumes of crystal-rich magma is tested here by analyzing the mineralogical, chemical, modal, and physical characteristics of the 31.1 Ma super-eruptive (2000 km3) Cottonwood Wash Tuff. It is the oldest in a series of three so-called “monotonous intermediate” ignimbrites from the Indian Peak-Caliente volcanic field in southern Utah and Nevada. A crystal-rich (~50% Pl > Qz ≈ Hbl ≈ Bt > Mag ≈ Ilm > Cpx + Zrn + Ap+ Po) dacite (62 – 69 wt% SiO2), the Cottonwood Wash Tuff is similar in age, volume, mineralogy, crystallinity, and elemental composition …

Cooling Before Super-Eruption: No Role For Rejuvenation In The Cottonwood Wash Tuff Magma Body, Southern Great Basin Ignimbrite Province, Utah And Nevada, Keryn Tobler Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The model of rejuvenation of a near-solidus crystal mush to produce large volumes of crystal-rich magma is tested here by analyzing the mineralogical, chemical, modal, and physical characteristics of the 31.1 Ma super-eruptive (2000 km3) Cottonwood Wash Tuff. It is the oldest in a series of three so-called "monotonous intermediate" ignimbrites from the Indian Peak-Caliente volcanic field in southern Utah and Nevada. A crystal-rich (~50% Pl > Qz ≈ Hbl ≈ Bt > Mag ≈ Ilm > Cpx + Zrn + Ap+ Po) dacite (62 - 69 wt% SiO2), the Cottonwood Wash Tuff is similar in age, volume, mineralogy, crystallinity, and elemental composition …

Experimental Limestone Dissolution And Changes In Multiscale Structure Using Small- And Ultra Small- Angle Neutron Scattering, Chad Alan Novack

Masters Theses

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS), ultra-small angle neutron scattering (USANS), and backscatter electron (BSE) imaging, along with neutron computed tomography (NCT) were used in this study to experimentally quantify pore size, distribution, and connectivity of dissolved limestone geometries. Eight samples of Indiana limestone of two different initial permeabilities (2-4 mD and 70 mD ) [millidarcy] were reacted with HCl [hydrochloric acid] solutions at differing pH (2 and 4), and flow rates (0.1 and 10 cm³/min) [cubic centimeters per minute] to describe a broad range of parameters that affect limestone dissolution. NCT was first used to image the dissolution …

Feasibility Study Of Porous Media Compressed Air Energy Storage In South Carolina, United States Of America, Alexandra-Selene Jarvis

All Theses

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) such as solar and wind, are expected to play a progressively significant role in electricity production as the world begins to move away from an almost total reliance on nonrenewable sources of power. In the US there is increasing investment in RES as the Department of Energy (DOE) expands its wind power network to encompass the use of offshore wind resources in places such as the South Carolina (SC) Atlantic Coastal Plain. Because of their unstable nature, RES cannot be used as reliable grid-scale power sources unless power is somehow stored during excess production and recovered …

Late Tertiary Tectonic Uplift In The Southern And Central Appalachians, Mary Sheela Biswal

Masters Theses

The exposed Appalachian Mountains extend about 2500 km from Newfoundland to Alabama with the highest peaks >2000 m above sea level. The last orogeny that affected Appalachian crust was the 325-260 Ma Alleghanian. Even with minimal erosion rates, it is highly unlikely that the Appalachians could have sustained such elevations for over 200 m.y., suggesting that recent tectonic uplift has produced today’s mountainous topography. The multiple phases of Tertiary uplift are related to poorly understood processes, but a large amount of data from today’s mountain chain and the adjacent Coastal Plain indicate the present high topography is anomalous and clearly …