Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Structural Analysis And Interpretation Of Deformation Along The Keweenaw Fault System From Lake Linden To Mohawk, Michigan, Nolan G. Gamet

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is likely the most significant and most studied fault associated with the Midcontinent Rift System. The fault roughly bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula and places Portage Lake Volcanics (~1.1 Ga) over much younger Jacobsville Sandstone (~1.0 Ga). Published bedrock geology maps with cross sections from the 1950s show the fault as a single continuous trace that is locally associated with smaller cross faults and splays. The accompanying cross-sections show hanging-wall volcanic strata having a well-defined, listric geometry with dip decreasing away from the fault to the northwest.

This M.S. thesis presents a structural analysis and interpretation of the …

Paleoseismic Investigation Of Rupture On The Dead Coyote Fault In The Kittitas Valley, Washington, Garet Huddleston

All Master's Theses

Recently discovered fault scarps along the Dead Coyote Fault (DCF) in the northern Kittitas Valley (KV) of central Washington suggests active faulting in the late Quaternary, but constraints on the timing and potential magnitude of earthquakes along the fault zone are limited. The KV lies at the northwestern edge of the Yakima Fold and Thrust Belt (YFTB), a low-strain region where individual structures are capable of producing M~7 earthquakes.

This investigation uses surficial geologic mapping and topographic analysis of the DCF scarps, ground penetrating radar transects, and paleoseismic trenching to determine the rupture history of the DCF. The trench was …

Paleomagnetic Determination Of Vertical Axis Block Rotation Near The Doty Fault In Southwestern Washington, Charles Linneman

WWU Graduate School Collection

In this paper I present the results of paleomagnetically derived vertical axis rotations (VARs) of sites in two different flows of the Columbia River Basalt (CRB) – the 16 Ma Sentinel Bluffs member of the Grande Ronde flow and the 12 Ma Pomona Member of the Packsack Lookout – near the Doty fault in southwestern Washington. In two field seasons, I collected 99 cores from 14 sites, 11 in the Grande Ronde flow and three in the Pomona member flow. Of the 227 specimens that I demagnetized, 212 had well-defined magnetic directions. Positive fold and reversal tests results confirm the …

Effect Of Pre-Existing Fault Orientation On Strain Localization In A Foliated Granitic Gneiss, Geoffrey Hilliard

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The effect of fault orientation relative to the applied stress on reactivation of pre-existing brittle faults instead of forming new faults is well-explained by Mohr-Coulomb theory. However, Mohr-Coulomb theory does not explain the effect of orientation on reactivation of faults with a ductile rheology and no work has been performed to assess the effect of orientation of a pre-existing ductile fault on fault strength. In order to determine how rock strength and localization of strain into a ductile fault is affected when the orientation of the pre-existing fault (artificial fault) is changed, experiments were performed on pre-faulted cores of a …

Monitoring Of Carbon Dioxide Injection In The Southeastern United States, Adil Murad Awad Alshammari

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, measured levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have substantially increased. One way to limit the adverse impacts of increased carbon dioxide concentrations is to capture and store it inside Earth's subsurface, a process known as CO2 sequestration. This method's success is critically dependent on the ability to confine injected CO2 for up to thousands of years. Establishing effective maintenance of sealing systems of reservoirs is of importance to prevent CO2 leakage. Understanding the nature and rate of potential CO2 leakage related to this injection process is essential to evaluating seal effectiveness and ultimately mitigating global warming. …

Delineating Of The Utica Shale/Point Pleasant Formation Play System To Determine Influence Of The Precambrian Basement In Northeastern Ohio, Jarrod R. Bridges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Utica Shale/Point Pleasant Formation system has recently become a highly developed unconventional target for oil and natural gas production, leading to an increased desire for knowledge of the controls on deposition of this system. Precambrian basement features have long been known to affect deposition of older strata near these features across Ohio, but the effects of far field tectonics is not fully agreed upon. Precambrian faults and lineaments are known to exist and have been mapped, but are thought to have ceased their influence on deposition by the time of the Knox unconformity during the Cambrian. In the case …

Paleomagnetic Investigation Of Igneous Rocks Deformed By The Keweenaw Fault In The Northwestern Keweenaw Peninsula., Daniel Trekas

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

One of the most prominent structural features associated with the ~1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift (MCR) system is the >350 km long Keweenaw Fault that bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula, separating the MCR-related Portage Lake Volcanics (PLV) and the younger Jacobsville Sandstone (JS). The fault trend is NE-NNE over most of its length, but changes to an easterly direction along the shore of Bête Grise Bay near the end of the peninsula. Conventionally, the Keweenaw Fault has been considered to be a continuous reverse (dip-slip) fault formed by inversion of an original rift-bounding normal fault during the Grenville Orogeny. However, recent mapping …

The Influence Of Mechanical Stratigraphy On Thrust-Ramp Nucleation And Propagation Of Thrust Faults, Sarah S. Wigginton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Our current understanding of thrust fault kinematics predicts that thrust faults nucleate on low angle, weak surfaces before they propagate upward and forms a higher angle ramp. While this classic kinematic and geometric model serves well in some settings, it does not fully consider the observations of footwall deformation beneath some thrust faults. We examine an alternative end-member model of thrust fault formation called “ramp-first” fault formation. This model hypothesizes that in mechanically layered rocks, thrust ramps nucleate in the structurally strong units, and that faults can propagate both upward and downward into weaker units forming folds at both fault …

A Geophysical Delineation Of A Normal Fault Within The Gulf Coastal Plain, Montgomery County, Texas, Danielle Minteer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf Coast of Texas has been a known hydrocarbon basin for many years with various structural trapping mechanisms such as anticlines, faults and salt domes. While most large salt domes have been extensively studied in the Gulf Coastal Plain, many smaller normal faults have not been studied in detail. This research study employs an integrated geophysical approach to mapping the Big Barn fault in Montgomery County, Texas. This fault is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain and is approximately 20 miles north of Houston, Texas. Most normal faults in the Gulf Coastal Plain formed as a result of the …

Analysis Of The Hite Fault Group, Southeast Utah: Insights Into Fluid Flow Properties In A Reservoir Analog, Daniel J. Curtis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the subsurface faults can act as both barriers and conduits for fluids or gases such as CO₂, hydrocarbons, or water. It is often thought that faults in porous rocks such as sandstone are barriers to fluid flow. In this study we show that this is not always the case. In sandstones like the Cedar Mesa Sandstone it is very important to understand the relationships between this history of fault slip and fluid flow. Better understanding of how fluids migrate through faults and the damaged areas surrounding these faults has strong significance to the oil and gas industry. …

Refraction Microtremor Analysis Of Areas Surrounding California State University San Bernardino, Malcolm D. Thomas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The San Andreas Fault stretches for over 800 miles through California. Along the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, areas in close proximity to the San Andreas Fault Zone may be subject to site amplification of ground motion caused by seismic activity via wave propagation through the subsurface. These seismic hazards are being addressed via the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Faulting Zone Act and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Shear wave velocity of the subsurface has served as a proxy for ground motion amplification and is therefore a useful parameter to help analyze and reduce seismic hazards. Low shear wave …

Qualitative Comparison Of Offset Surfaces Between The Central And Eastern Garlock Fault, Thomas M. Crane

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Garlock Fault consists of three distinct segments, known as western, central, and eastern, together reaching approximately 260 km from the San Andreas Fault to the southern end of Death Valley. Although published slip rates are available along the western and central Garlock Fault segments, little is currently known of the Garlock Fault earthquake history or slip rate farther east. Using LiDAR and satellite imagery, the central and eastern Garlock Fault segments were analyzed for visibly offset, fault-adjacent, geomorphic surfaces that may potentially be used for estimating slip rate. Qualitative methods of assessing preserved alluvial surface maturity were adapted and …

Collisional Reactivation Of Rift Margin Fracture Zones, Taiwan And The Taconic Allochthon, David C. Mirakian

Master's Theses

Chapter I. Transverse Topographic Development due to the Reactivation of a Partially-Subducted Fracture Zone: The Southwest Hsüehshan Range, Central Taiwan

Abstract — The southwest flank of the Hsüehshan Range is defined by a topographic break which cuts across regionally mapped structures in central Taiwan. The mountain front trends ~345°, slightly oblique to the Sanyi-Puli seismic zone which has been previously interpreted as a reactivated continental margin fracture zone. Structural data collected along the length of the topographic break reveal two populations of cross-cutting faults with distinct fault-zone materials and a series of southwest-plunging folds. Paleostress axes were reconstructed using the …

Detrital Zircon Fission Track Ages Of The Paleocene Orca Group Of Eastern Prince William Sound Near Cordova Alaska, Tyler M. Izykowski

Honors Theses

The Prince William terrane is a major component of the Mesozoic-Tertiary accretionary complex of the North American Cordillera that is well exposed for ~2200 km in southern Alaska and is inferred to be one of the thickest accretionary complexes in the world. Detrital zircons from Prince William terrane record the thermal evolution and exhumation history of the accretionary wedge. Samples of the Paleocene-Eocene Orca Group of the Prince William terrane were analyzed using detrital zircon fission track techniques to understand the thermochronology of the region near Cordova. Six sandstones from the Orca Group and one sample of the Sheep Bay …

Magnitude Of Right-Lateral Offset On The Southern Death Valley Fault Zone From Miocene Volcanic Assemblages, Sabrina Michelle Canalda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study correlation of Miocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks in southern Death Valley is used to constrain the total amount of slip on the southern Death Valley fault. The tertiary volcanic section near Ibex Pass is correlated to rocks ~35 km to the northwest, in the Wingate Wash region (Luckow et al., 2005). Geochronology by Luckow et al. (2005) in Wingate Wash and the Owlshead Mountains has the region divided into two basic periods: an early interval (~14-13.4Ma), and a later phase (~13-12.5Ma). One date from the volcanic sequence in Ibex Pass has been reported (Calzia, 2000) suggesting that …

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 …

The Stratigraphic, Sedimentologic, And Paleogeographic Evolution Of The Eocene- Oligocene Grasshopper Extensional Basin, Southwest Montana, Joseph P. Matoush

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Grasshopper basin, located in southwest Montana, is an east-tilted graben bounded by the listric Muddy-Grasshopper fault and the Meriwether Lewis fault on the eastern and western margins of the basin, respectively. This basin contains a complex stratigraphy of intertonguing facies comprised of five unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary alluvial, flu vial, deltaic, and lacustrine sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Sequence 1 consists of the Challis volcanic Group (Middle Eocene). The sedimentary rocks of the Medicine Lodge beds (Late Eocene-Late Oligocene) represent sequence 2 and approximately 90% of the basin-fill within Grasshopper basin. Sequence 3 consists 11 of the Sedimentary Rocks of Everson …

A Geophysical Study Of The Easternmost Piedmont: Brunswick County, Virginia, Mark A. Corbin

OES Theses and Dissertations

Gravity and magnetic models indicate that a steeply dipping, mylonitic shear zone recognized by reconnaissance mapping in the easternmost Piedmont of Brunswick County, Virginia is a listric fault. A pronounced 3 to 5 mgal Bouguer anomaly high is associated with the fault zone. A band of N10° trending aeromagnetic anomalies delineate the areal extent of the fault zone. The fault zone flattens eastward over a short distance to a depth of 15 kms where it joins a near horizontal surface that cuts across the region. This surface is herein interpreted to be a decollement. The fault zone of this study …