Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Kanarra Fold-Thrust Structure - The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold-Thrust Belt, Southwestern Utah: Geology Of The Intermountain West, William J. Chandonia, John P. Hogan

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The multiple origins proposed for the Kanarra anticline in southwestern Utah as a drag-fold along the Hurricane fault, a Laramide monocline, a Sevier fault-propagation fold, or a combination of these process­es, serve to muddy its tectonic significance. This in part reflects the structural complexity of the exposed eastern half of the fold. The fold evolved from open and up-right to overturned and tight, is cross-cut by multiple faults, and was subsequently dismembered by the Hurricane fault. The western half of the fold is obscured because of burial, along with the hanging wall of the Hurricane fault, beneath Neogene and younger …

Applied Geochemistry, Geochronology And Biostratigraphy: Case Studies From The 38th Parallel Structures In Missouri And Orange Basin, Offshore Western South Africa, Marissa Kay Spencer

Doctoral Dissertations

"The unique alignment of the Decaturville, Crooked Creek, and Weaubleau geological structures in central Missouri, three of nine known such structures along the 38th parallel in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, has puzzled geoscientists for decades. Research using palynology (palynomorphs and particulate organic matter) and radiometric dating of impact spherules were used to constrain age and a relationship between these enigmatic structures and infer their paleoenvironmental conditions. Novel melting damages, unique to impact, were documented in the palynomorphs in all the three structures. Early Ordovician acritarchs with melted processes correlate with ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar stepwise heating age of impact spherules …

Temporal Lidar Scanning In Quantifying Cumulative Rockfall Volume And Hazard Assessment: A Case Study At Southwestern Saudi Arabia, Abdullah A. Alotaibi, Norbert H. Maerz, Kenneth J. Boyko, Ahmed M. Youssef, Biswajeet Pradhan

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rockfalls and unstable slopes pose a serious threat to people and property along roads/highways in the southwestern mountainous regions of Saudi Arabia. In this study, the application of terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology was applied aiming to propose a strategy to analyze and accurately depict the detection of rockfall changes, calculation of rockfall volume, and evaluate rockfall hazards along the Habs Road, Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia. A series of temporal LiDAR scans were acquired at three selected sites. Our results show that these three sites have different degrees of hazard due to their geological differences. The mean volume …

Potassic Volcanism Induced By Mantle Upwelling Through A Slab Window: Evidence From Shear Wave Splitting Analyses In Central Java, Fansheng Kong, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Jiabiao Li

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To delineate the mantle flow fields in the vicinity of a previously proposed slab window and the possible roles that they may play in the formation of potassic volcanism in Central Java, we conduct shear wave splitting analyses using both local S and teleseismic XKS waves (including SKS, SKKS, and PKS) recorded by 121 onshore stations and two ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). The XKS fast orientations from the OBSs are trench normal and in accord with previous subslab anisotropy measurements. In the eastern part of Central Java, the XKS and local S fast orientations from the onshore stations are mostly …

Continental Break-Up Under A Convergent Setting: Insights From P Wave Radial Anisotropy Tomography Of The Woodlark Rift In Papua New Guinea, Youqiang Yu, Frederik Tilmann, Dapeng Zhao, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To explore the dynamic mechanism of continental rifting within a convergent setting, we determine the first P wave radial anisotropic tomography beneath the Woodlark rift in southeastern Papua New Guinea, which develops within the obliquely colliding zone between the Australian and southwest Pacific plates. The rift zone is depicted as localized low-velocity anomalies with positive radial anisotropy, which rules out a dominant role of active mantle upwelling in promoting the rift development and favors passive rifting with decompression melting as main processes. Downwelling slab relics in the upper mantle bounding the rift zone are revealed based on observed high-velocity anomalies …

Prediction Of Soil Water Content And Electrical Conductivity Using Random Forest Methods With Uav Multispectral And Ground-Coupled Geophysical Data, Yunyi Guan, Katherine R. Grote, Joel Schott, Kelsi Leverett

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The volumetric water content (VWC) of soil is a critical parameter in agriculture, as VWC strongly influences crop yield, provides nutrients to plants, and maintains the microbes that are needed for the biological health of the soil. Measuring VWC is difficult, as it is spatially and tempo-rally heterogeneous, and most agricultural producers use point measurements that cannot fully capture this parameter. Electrical conductivity (EC) is another soil parameter that is useful in agricul-ture, since it can be used to indicate soil salinity, soil texture, and plant nutrient availability. Soil EC is also very heterogeneous; measuring EC using conventional soil sampling …

Depositional Conditions, Stratigraphic Evolution, And Allo- And Autogenic Controls Of Lower Permian Non-Marine Carbonate Rocks, Lucaogou Low-Order Cycle, Bogda Mountains, Nw China, Yiran Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The overall objective of this study is to interpret the depositional conditions of lacustrine carbonate deposits of the lower Permian Lucaogou low-order cycle in the greater Turpan-Junggar continental rift basin, NW China. The depositional environments of ten carbonate lithofacies in the Tarlong-Taodonggou half graben and the Zhaobishan section were interpreted. Allo- and autogenic factors were identified. They controlled characteristics and distribution pattern of carbonate deposits in regional and local scale, respectively. Allogenic factors include the amount and direction of regional siliciclastic input, basin geometry, cyclic humidity/aridity oscillation, temperature, and regional tectonics. Autogenic factors include local siliciclastic input, local topography, local …

Laterally Heterogeneous Seismic Anisotropy Investigated By Shear Wave Splitting Analyses, Yan Jia

Doctoral Dissertations

"Numerous geophysical studies suggest that seismic anisotropy is a nearly ubiquitous property of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. In this study, we utilize the shear wave splitting technique to investigate the piercing-point-dependent azimuthal anisotropy beneath the northeastern edge of the Sichuan Basin in central China, and the spatial and temporal variations of anisotropy near the 2019 M7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake in California, respectively. A clear back azimuthal dependence of the splitting parameters and the lack of a 90° or 180° periodicity of azimuthal variation in the observed fast orientations provide strong evidence for the existence of piercing-point-dependent anisotropy beneath the …

Mantle Flow And Transition Zone Discontinuities Beneath The Carribean Plate: Constraints From Shear Wave Splitting And Receiver Function Analyses, Tu Xue

Doctoral Dissertations

"Azimuthal anisotropy quantified by teleseismic SKS, SKKS, PKS (“XKS”) and local S wave splitting parameters is used to investigate lithospheric deformation and asthenospheric flow beneath the boundary zone of the North American and Caribbean plates and adjacent areas. A total of 4915 XKS and 1202 pairs of local S wave splitting parameters were obtained at 24 broad band seismic stations. The XKS observations can be divided into two groups based on the spatial distribution of the resulting fast polarization orientations. Those observed on the Caribbean Plate are mostly WNW-ESE which are roughly trench-parallel. In contrast, the fast orientations observed on …

Application Of Machine Learning In Geophysics: Ranking Teleseismic Shear Wave Splitting Measurements And Classifying Different Types Of Earthquakes, Yanwei Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"During the past decades, applications of Machine Learning have been explosively developed to solve various academic and industrial problems, and over-human performance has been shown in diverse areas. In geophysical research, Machine Learning, especially Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), has been applied in numerous studies and demonstrated considerable potential. In this study, we applied CNN to solve two geophysical problems, ranking teleseismic shear splitting (SWS) measurements and classifying different types of earthquakes.

For ranking teleseismic SWS measurements, we utilized a CNN-based method to automatically select reliable SWS measurements. The CNN was trained by human-verified teleseismic SWS measurements and tested using synthetic …

Adsorption Of Arsenic Onto River Sediments, Leticia Augusta Dos Santos Ferreira

Masters Theses

“Previous studies have noted the relationship between shallow groundwater rich in sodium (Na) and bicarbonate (HCO₃) and elevated levels of dissolved arsenic. However, most experimental work on arsenic adsorption in the presence of HCO₃ and differing Na/Ca ratios has proven difficult to extrapolate to natural systems because of differences in tested mineral compositions and component concentrations. In this study, I performed a series of adsorption experiments using river sediments to evaluate the influence of HCO₃ and monovalent/divalent cations on the extent of arsenic adsorption onto natural sediment in groundwater.

Batch adsorption (kinetics, equilibrium, and metal loading) …

Understanding The Multiple Small Magnitude Induced Seismic Soil Fatigue Potential On Hazard Assessments, Merissa L. Zuzulock, Oliver Denzil S. Taylor, Norbert H. Maerz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Soils under spacio-temporally clustered events loading are susceptible to soil fatigue as pore pressure dissipates and the soil is unable to recover. This potential for damage from soil fatigue is identified through an induced seismic fatigue equation provided in this paper. The objective of this paper is to present an induced seimic equation for soils under spacio-temporally clustered impulse loading to identify potential hazards to the subsurface that supports critical infrastructure. It further illustrates the use of the equation as determined from a comparison of three varying soil profiles with resulting data that shows a need to establish new critieria …

Apportioning Deformation Among Depth Intervals In An Aquifer System Using Insar And Head Data, Ryan G. Smith, Hossein Hashemi, Jingyi Chen, Rosemary Knight

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Land surface subsidence due to excessive groundwater pumping is an increasing concern in California, USA. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a remote sensing technique for measuring centimeter-to-millimeter surface deformation at 10-100 m spatial resolution. Here, a data-driven approach that attributes deformation to individual depth intervals within an aquifer system by integrating head data acquired from each of three screened intervals in a monitoring well with InSAR surface deformation measurements was developed. The study area was the Colusa Basin in northern Central Valley. To reconstruct the surface deformation history over the study area, 13 ALOS-PALSAR scenes acquired between 2006 and …

Evaluation Of Geohazards In The Cape Girardeau Area Using Lidar And Gis, Southeast Missouri, Usa, Olufeyisayo B. Ilesanmi, J. David Rogers, Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) has historically recorded some of the largest intensity earthquakes in North America, including significant earth movements that resulted in about 2000 felt earthquakes during 1811-1812. The region continues to experience mass wasting due to earth movements. The aim of this study is to understand the influence of geologic variables on mass wasting processes in the greater Cape Girardeau area, which forms the commercial center of Missouri's fertile "Bootheel" region. Earth movement susceptibility was evaluated in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties and portions of Stoddard and Scott counties by mapping potential landslide features on topographic …

Teleseismic P-Wave Attenuation Beneath The Southeastern United States, Ashutosh Shrivastava, Kelly H. Liu, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Seismic attenuation is an important parameter for characterizing subsurface morphology and thermal structure. In this study, we use P-wave amplitude spectra from 588 teleseismic events recorded by 477 broadband seismic stations in the southeastern United States to examine the spatial variations of seismic attenuation in the crust and upper mantle. The resulting seismic attenuation parameter (∆t*) measurements obtained using the spectral ratio technique reveal a zone of relatively low attenuation in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and the southwestern terminus of the Piedmont province. Spatial coherency analysis of the ∆t* observations suggests that the center of the low attenuation …

Dynamic Topography Of The St. Francois Mountains, Joshua Carpenter

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

The purpose of this research project was to search for evidence of relict topographic surfaces in the St. Francois Mountains that preserve a history of regional and/or global forces. To accomplish this, topographic cross-sections were taken in Google Earth to examine changes in the region's topography with focus towards the following features: sub-horizontal surfaces, knickpoints, and valley floors. Elevation data was then collected and plotted in Excel. This revealed sub-horizontal surfaces between elevations of ~1780-1545 ft; knickpoints between ~1700-900 ft; and valley floors at ~1470-1350 ft. and ~1200-900 ft. The sub-horizontal surfaces are interpreted as relict peneplains preserved during periods …

Spatial Variations Of Upper Crustal Anisotropy Along The San Jacinto Fault Zone In Southern California: Constraints From Shear Wave Splitting Analysis, Enyuan Jiang, Kelly H. Liu, Yuan Gao, Xiaofei Fu, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To discern spatial and explore possible existence of temporal variations of upper crustal anisotropy in an ∼15 km section of the San Jacinto Fault Zone (SJFZ) that is composed of the Buck Ridge and Clark faults in southern California, we conduct a systematic shear wave splitting investigation using local S-wave data recorded by three broadband seismic stations located near the surface expression of the SJFZ. An automatic data selection and splitting measurement procedure is first applied, and the resulting splitting measurements are then manually screened to ensure reliability of the results. Strong spatial variations in crustal anisotropy are revealed by …

Seismic Anisotropy And Mantle Deformation Beneath The Central Sunda Plate, Wenkai Song, Youqiang Yu, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Yifang Fu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The central Sunda plate, which forms the core of Southeast Asia, has been extensively studied based on analyses of data mainly from surface geological observations. In contrast, largely due to the limited coverage by seismic stations in the area, a number of key issues associated with mantle structure and dynamics remain enigmatic. These can possibly be constrained by investigating seismic azimuthal anisotropy in the upper mantle. Here we employ the shear wave splitting technique on three P-to-S converted phases from the core-mantle boundary (PKS, SKKS, and SKS) recorded by 11 stations to systematically explore the spatial variation of azimuthal anisotropy …

High-Precision U-Pb Age Constraints On The Permian Floral Turnovers, Paleoclimate Change, And Tectonics Of The North China Block, Qiong Wu, Jahandar Ramezani, Hua Zhang, Jun Wang, Wan Yang, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Permian marine-terrestrial system of the North China block provides an exceptional window into the evolution of northern temperate ecosystems during the critical transition from icehouse to greenhouse following the late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA). Despite many studies on its rich hydrocarbon reserves and climate-sensitive fossil flora, uncertain temporal constraints and correlations have hampered a thorough understanding of the records of geologic, biologic, and climatic change from the North China block. We present a new chronostratigraphy based on high-precision U-Pb chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) geochronology of tuffs from a near-complete latest Carboniferous-Permian succession in North China. The …

Unsteady-State Contact Angle Hysteresis During Droplet Oscillation In Capillary Pores: Theoretical Model And Vof Simulation -- Supporting Information, Chao Zeng, Wen Deng, Lichun Wang

Research Data

Contact angle hysteresis (CAH) is a critical phenomenon that could significantly affect the fate of immiscible bubbles/droplets in vadose zones, nonaqueous phase liquid contaminated aquifers, and saline aquifers for CO₂ sequestration in terms of infiltration patterns and residual trapping mechanisms. When external physical impacts such as oscillatory excitation or pulse forcing are applied, it could result in pinned oscillation of droplets due to this CAH. Conventional steady-state analysis of contact angle could underestimate CAH. As the first time to take unsteady-state effect into consideration, a hydrodynamic analysis is developed in this study to address the unsteady-state CAH theoretically, and …

Stress-State Dependency Of The Deformation Ratio Of Quasi-Elastic Granular Soils Under Cyclic Loading -- Supporting Information, Pingxin Xia, Longtan Shao, Wen Deng

Research Data

Poisson’s ratio, besides its transverse-axial strain ratio definition, also plays a significant role in traditional elastic theory as an elastic constant. However, this elastic role of Poisson’s ratio faces a challenge when applied to quasi-elastic granular soils. A so-called “deformation ratio” is therefore introduced and measured in this paper for quasi-elastic granular soils. With the same definition of the transverse-axial strain ratio as Poisson’s ratio, the stress-state dependency of the deformation ratio and the break-down of conversion relationship of elastic constants are investigated under cyclic triaxial tests. The results show that Poisson’s ratio is consistent with deformation ratio only in …

Crustal And Upper Mantle Structure Beneath The Southeastern United States From Joint Inversion Of Rayleigh Wave Dispersion And Receiver Functions, Qiuyue Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

"In spite of numerous geophysical investigations have been conducted in southeastern United States, the structure and evolution of the crust and lithospheric mantle remain controversial due the thick sedimentary covers atop the crust of the coastal plains there. In this study, we use data from 186 broadband seismic stations belonging to the USArray Transportable Array to construct a 3-D shear wave velocity model for the southeastern United States for the top 180 km by a joint inversion of Rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion and receiver functions. Our results show a clear spatial correspondence with major surficial geological features. A prominent …

Receiver Function Imaging Of The 410 And 660 Km Discontinuities And Seismic Azimuthal Anisotropy Revealed By Shear Wave Splitting Beneath The Australian Continent, Kailun Ba

Doctoral Dissertations

"The Australian continent is composed the of Precambrian cratons in the west and Phanerozolc orogens in the east. Despite numerous seismological studies, controversies remain regarding the structure, evolution, and dynamics of the crust and mantle beneath Australia. In this study, we used two techniques, receiver functions and shear wave splitting analyses, to investigate the topography of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) discontinuities and mantle seismic azimuthal anisotropy, respectively. We utilized P-to-S receiver functions to map the 410 and 660 km discontinuities bordering the MTZ. The discontinuity depths obtained show a systematic apparent uplifting for both discontinuities in central and western …

Spatiotemporal Variations Of Upper Crustal Anisotropy Along The San Jacinto Fault Zone In Southern California And The Fairview Region In Central Oklahoma, Enyuan Jiang

Doctoral Dissertations

"To discern spatial and explore the possible existence of temporal variations of upper crustal anisotropy along an ~15 km section of the San Jacinto Fault Zone (SJFZ) in California, and in the Fairview, Oklahoma, region, we conduct systematic shear wave splitting (SWS) investigations using local S-wave data recorded by seismic stations. Strong spatial variations in crustal anisotropy are revealed by 1694 and 405 pairs of splitting parameters (including the fast polarization orientation and the splitting time), respectively. For both areas, for raypaths traveling through the fault zones, the fast orientations are parallel to the faults and may be attributed to …

Spatial Variations Of Teleseismic P-Wave Attenuation And Scattering Beneath The Southeastern United States And The Malawi And Luangwa Rift Zones In East Africa, Ashutosh Shrivastava

Doctoral Dissertations

"Seismic attenuation is an important physical parameter for characterizing subsurface morphology and the thermal structure of the Earth’s crust and mantle. In this study, teleseismic P-wave amplitude spectra are used to examine the seismic attenuation beneath the southeastern United States and the Malawi and Luangwa rift zones in east African. The resulting seismic attenuation parameters (Δt*) reveal a systematic contrast between the Appalachian Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain exhibiting high and low attenuation, respectively. Spatial coherency analysis of the Δt* observations suggests that the center of the low-attenuation layer is located within the uppermost mantle at about …

Mantle Flow Systems Associated With Slab Subduction And Absolute Plate Motion In Alaska Constrained By Shear Wave Splitting Analyses, Yuchen Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Alaska has long been recognized as a geologically complex region with a sharp contrast in tectonic activity between southern and northern Alaska. While the former is characterized by the subduction of the geometrically varying Pacific-Yakutat plate beneath the North American plate, the latter has a mostly stable cratonic setting. To investigate the mantle flow fields beneath Alaska and understand the influence of the subduction process on regional mantle dynamics, a total of 2790 pairs of well-defined teleseismic shear wave splitting (SWS) measurements recorded from 379 stations are obtained and analyzed. In addition, 247 pairs of SWS results from local earthquake …

Micro-Annulus Generation Under Downhole Conditions: Insights From Three-Dimensional Staged Finite Element Analysis Of Cement Hardening And Wellbore Operations, Weicheng Zhang, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A micro-annulus (MA) is defined as a high permeability zone or gap initiating/occurring at the casing-cement and cement-formation interfaces during the wellbore life span. An MA can significantly compromise wellbore integrity by establishing enhanced fluid flow pathways. This study uses a staged finite element approach to simulate wellbore integrity during various loading steps of wellbore operations under downhole conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on the processes of cement poro-elastic property evolution, volume variation, and pore pressure variation as part of the cement hardening step. The resulting state of stress during the life cycle of a typical injection well (i.e. hardening, …

Groundwater Withdrawal Prediction Using Integrated Multitemporal Remote Sensing Data Sets And Machine Learning, S. Majumdar, Ryan G. Smith, J. J. Butler, V. Lakshmi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Effective monitoring of groundwater withdrawals is necessary to help mitigate the negative impacts of aquifer depletion. In this study, we develop a holistic approach that combines water balance components with a machine learning model to estimate groundwater withdrawals. We use both multitemporal satellite and modeled data from sensors that measure different components of the water balance and land use at varying spatial and temporal resolutions. These remote sensing products include evapotranspiration, precipitation, and land cover. Due to the inherent complexity of integrating these data sets and subsequently relating them to groundwater withdrawals using physical models, we apply random forests -- …

Drastic Vegetation Change In The Guajira Peninsula (Colombia) During The Neogene, Carlos Jaramillo, Pierre Sepulchre, Damian Cardenas, Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dry biomes occupy ~35% of the landscape in the Neotropics, but these are heavily human-disturbed. In spite of their importance, we still do not fully understand their origins and how they are sustained. The Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia is dominated by dry biomes and has a rich Neogene fossil record. Here, we have analyzed its changes in vegetation and precipitation during the Neogene using a fossil pollen and spore dataset of 20 samples taken from a well and we also dated the stratigraphic sequence using microfossils. In addition, we analyzed the pollen and spore contents of 10 Holocene samples …

Slab Dehydration And Mantle Upwelling In The Vicinity Of The Sumatra Subduction Zone: Evidence From Receiver Function Imaging Of Mantle Transition Zone Discontinuities, Fansheng Kong, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Weiwei Ding, Jiabiao Li

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A total of 10,586 P-to-S radial receiver functions recorded by 64 broadband seismic stations were utilized to image the 410 and 660 km discontinuities (d410 and d660, respectively) bordering the mantle transition zone (MTZ) beneath the Sumatra Island, the Malay Peninsula, and the western margin of the South China Sea. The d410 and d660 were imaged by stacking receiver functions in successive circular bins with a radius of 1°, after moveout corrections based on the 1-D IASP91 Earth model. The resulting apparent depths of the discontinuities exhibit significant and spatially systematic variations. The apparent depths of the d410 and d660 …