Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …

Investigation Of A Possible Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary Layer In The Hell Creek Formation Near Ekalaka, Montana, U.S.A., Joshua Marvin Schwartz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Hell Creek Formation is known for its abundant vertebrate fossils from the end of the Cretaceous. Its internal stratigraphy is poorly defined and it is therefore difficult to determine the precise stratigraphic location of a paleontological feature. This challenge could be overcome if a consistently appearing easily recognizable time horizon, such as the Chicxulub impact debris, or a well defined formational contact could be identified over a wide area of the Hell Creek Formation exposure, but these have been difficult to establish in some localities. The Carthage Institute of Paleontology (CIP) has collected Hell Creek specimens near Ekalaka, Montana …

Vegetation Prior To And During Onset Of East Antarctic Glaciation: High Resolution Palynological Insights From Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica, Meghan L. Duffy

LSU Master's Theses

The Aurora Subglacial Basin (ASB) contains an estimated 3.5 m of global sea-level equivalent ice volume and is primarily drained by the Totten Glacier system, which terminates at the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica. Thinning and retreating of the Totten Glacier indicate that this region is highly susceptible to oceanographic and atmospheric warming. The paleoclimate reconstruction of these changes, conducted in the context of this MS thesis, will improve understanding of East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) dynamics in this sensitive system. A recent study used seismic and sediment core data to document a dynamic early evolution of the EAIS in the …

In Search Of Antarctica's Last Vegetation Refugium Within The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, David Rau

LSU Master's Theses

The McMurdo Dry Valleys, a hyper-arid cold polar desert located within the Transantarctic Mountains was once covered by vegetation. An in depth study of surface samples of various Neogene age, acquired throughout the Valleys, provide insight to the location of one of Antarctica’s last vegetation refugia. Boston University’s Antarctic Research Group has collected 82 surface samples from paleo lake sediments on 14 expeditions spanning 22 years in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The ages of the samples are still not fully constrained, but 8 regions where samples were collected have been interpreted to range between 16.95 ± 0.17 to 4 Ma …

A Palynostratigraphic Investigation Of Holocene Coastal Texas Bays: Implications For Future Coastal Change, Shannon Marie Ferguson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most studied basins in the world, a majority of the focus has been driven by petroleum exploration and/or on seismic and sedimentological facies models. Rarely has the intent of previous studies been to characterize the Holocene climatic record of coastal Texas. Of those studies that discuss Holocene vegetation change, the majority focus on the Mississippi River Delta, the Edwards Plateau or central Florida, leaving an absence of insight to western Gulf of Mexico climate changes. The Texas coastline stretches 595 km across almost 4° of latitude and the strong northwestern precipitation …

Palynostratigraphy And Environmental Implication Of Organic-Walled Microfossils Recovered From Iodp Site U1435, Mitchell Clifford Gregory

LSU Master's Theses

Extensive studies have examined the syn- and post-rift sediments in the South China Sea and surrounding margins, but pre-rift, Eocene deposits are rare. Here we examine organic-walled microfossils from the South China Sea, recovered at Site U1435 of IODP Expedition 349 to provide palynostratigraphic control and characterize the environmental setting before, and in response to, the initiation of seafloor spreading in the basin ~33 Ma. The well preserved palynological assemblage recovered allow dating of sediments sampled at Site U1435. Units II and III are now subdivided in 4 subzones; Zone 1 is essentially barren, Zones 2 and 3A are assigned …

Palynological Studies Of Holocene Lake Sediments In The Missouri Ozarks, Robert D. Haselwander

Doctoral Dissertations

"Five small lakes in southeast Missouri (Frisco, Pine Forest, and Bray Area lakes [Phelps County], and Cypress and Blue ponds [Bollinger County]) were cored for paleolimnological studies. Cores were evaluated for their sedimentology, palynology, and geochemistry. In two of these lakes (Bray Area and Pine Forest lakes) the planktonic algae were also studied in the water column, along with ecological parameters. Algae in the sediments were compared to algae in the water to understand the resistance of different species to decay, and a suggested methodology for this work is described. Reconstructions of the past environments around each lake were created …

A Palynological Analysis Of Seymour Island And King George Island Off The Antarctic Peninsula: A Dating And Climatic Reconstruction, Caven Madison Kymes

LSU Master's Theses

During the Cretaceous and early Paleocene, Antarctica was covered by lush vegetation. However, Antarctica today is covered with ice and snow leaving less than 1% of the continent inhabited by vegetation. By studying this decline in vegetation and reconstructing past environments, we can gain a better understanding of environmental changes and use this knowledge to predict future changes. In this thesis, I present my results and interpretations of palynological changes across the Antarctic Peninsula during the Late Eocene, Middle Oligocene, and Miocene. The first study discusses a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the upper La Meseta formation (Late Eocene), Seymour Island, and …

Holocene Palynology Of The Gulf Of Papua, Papua New Guinea: Using Modern Palynomorph Distribution To Better Constrain Paleoenvironmental Changes, Marie Louise Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multiple NSF (National Science Foundation)-funded MARGINS Source-to-Sink cruises were conducted in the Gulf of Papua (GoP), Papua New Guinea (PNG), from 2003 through 2005 to better understand how sediment is created, transported, and deposited. Although much work has been done on the data collected during these cruises, palynological analysis has never been conducted on the hundreds of available cores. The first phase of this project (Chapters 2 and 3) examines the connection between modern depositional regimes in the GoP and species assemblages recovered. Statistical analysis of palynomaceral assemblages (Chapter 2) indicates a correlation between their distribution and bathymetry, sedimentation rate, …

A Petrographic Characterization Of The Leatherwood Coal Bed In Eastern Kentucky, Michelle N. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Eastern Kentucky Coal Field is located in the central portion of the Appalachian Basin. The Pennsylvanian Breathitt Formation in this region is characterized by numerous sequences of bituminous coal-bearing sedimentary rocks. These coals have distinct maceral compositions due to variations in depositional environments. Coal characterization is an important method for determining conditions that influenced peat accumulation and overall depositional settings of mires.

This study focuses on the characterization of the maceral composition of the Middle Pennsylvanian-age Leatherwood coal bed. It utilizes petrographical, palynological, and geochemical analyses to describe specific depositional environments and associated peat accumulation conditions.

Petrographic analyses indicate …

Changes In Climate And Moisture Availability In The Antarctic Eocene, Oligocene, And Miocene: Evidence From Palynological And Stable Isotope Geochemical Analyses Of The Shaldril And Andrill Cores, Kathryn Whitney Griener

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior to the Late Eocene, the Antarctic continent experienced lush vegetation under temperate conditions. Just before the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary, the climate of the southernmost continent began to deteriorate dramatically. This cooling trend largely continued until most Antarctic vegetation disappeared, ~13.85-12.8 Ma. Classifying the nature and cause of Antarctica’s drastic climate change is essential for furthering our knowledge of Earth’s history, and also for grasping the potential effects of current and future climate shifts. Here, I present evidence from three new palynomorph-centric studies that deepen our understanding of Antarctic earth science, climate change, and of climate proxies. The first study involved …

Teaching Climate Literacy Using Geospatial Tools, Steven L. Babcock

LSU Master's Theses

Antarctica is the world’s coldest, driest and windiest continent. It is a harsh environment that few people will ever see but it is a very important part of our Earth system. Over the past 34 million years the climate in Antarctica has deteriorated from one that supported lush vegetation to the conditions observed today. By studying this trend and the associated changes to ice and vegetation we can gain critical insight into climate changes taking place today. This thesis presents three pieces of curricula that will help students and the general public understand some of the research currently underway in …

Hurricane-Induced Geologic Change And Palynological Assessment Of A Rapidly Subsiding Deltaic Environment In Coastal Louisiana, James Dustin Naquin

LSU Master's Theses

This study is focused on a paleoenvironmental history of a backbarrier coastal lagoon situated on the seaward margin of the Lafourche delta lobe in coastal Louisiana. A 2.2 meter long sediment core (Core BC 53) was collected from a mangrove-covered land strip on the northern margin of Bay Champagne, and was studied using pollen analysis, Loss-on-ignition (LOI), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis, and Cesium-137 and radiocarbon dating techniques to establish sediment stratigraphy and core chronology. Bay Champagne, a backbarrier lagoon formed during the evolution of Bayou Lafourche, has shown to be highly sensitive to geomorphological and vegetation changes induced by sea-level …

Palynology Of The Upper Cretaceous Ferron-Notom Sandstone, Utah, Isil Akyuz

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT The Late Cretaceous Ferron-Notom Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale Formation plays a dominant role in oil production in Utah. Although numerous sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic studies have been conducted in recent years on this sequence, palynological analyses had not yet been undertaken. Here we present palynological data from one hundred twenty eight samples collected in the Ferron-Noton Sandstone Member outcroping in south-central Utah. The purpose of this study is to refine our understanding of climatic and depositional environments and to build a biostratigraphic palynological framework. The dominance of terrestrial palynomorphs, especially the high yield in moisture-loving cryptogam spores …

A High-Resolution Palynological Analysis Of The St. Stephens Quarry, Alabama: Locating The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary And Characterizing The Environmental Changes Across The Margin, Kevin Jensen

LSU Master's Theses

The Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) transition is a key interval in geological history because it marks a major change in Earth’s climate and because these strata are also popular oil targets in the Gulf Coast. E-O sequences in Alabama are stratigraphically complex. The St. Stephens Quarry (SSQ) in Alabama is one of the few accessible quarries along the Gulf Coast where the E-O boundary is visible in outcrop. Despite the abundance of research projects conducted in the SSQ, many controversies still surround the E-O boundary placement and correlation to the Global Stratotype in the Massignano section in Italy that is based on …

Palynostratigraphy Of The Umir Formation, Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (Mmvb) Colombia, Carlos Enrique Santos

LSU Master's Theses

The Late Cretaceous Umir Formation in Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMVB) was recently acknowledged as a new target. However, there is little known about the regional distribution of the Umir Formation since it is affected by structural complexity and a major regional unconformity. To improve biosteering of the Umir Formation and reduce exploratory risks, a detailed biostratigraphic analysis of the Umir Formation in the MMVB is presented. Eighty samples from four cores drilled in the Central Eastern MMVB were analyzed for palynological content. These cores represent 976.6 meters of the Middle to Upper Umir Formation. The sediment yielded a good …

An Investigation Of Stratigraphic Evidence For An Abrupt Climatic Event 8200 Yr Bp In Valle De Las Morrenas, Costa Rica, Brian Thomas Watson

Masters Theses

Lago de las Morrenas 4 (9.498056° [degrees] N, 83.486111° [degrees] W, 3466 m elev.) is the lowest lake in a chain of glacial lakes located in the Valle de las Morrenas, a valley facing almost due north from Cerro Chirripó, the highest peak in the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica. Coarse resolution analyses of pollen, microscopic charcoal, and loss-on-ignition of a ca. 10,000 year sediment record from Lago de las Morrenas 4 was carried out to complement and extend previous research on the environmental history of the Chirripó highlands and to provide context for high-resolution sampling and analysis of …

Antarctic Plant And Phytoplankton Response To The First Phase Of The Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum At South Mcmurdo Sound, Lee Foersterling

LSU Master's Theses

The Antarctic Drilling Program (ANDRILL) recovered 1138.54 m of sub-seafloor marine sediments with 98% core recovery at the AND2-2A drill site in South McMurdo Sound. Biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and isotopic dating (Acton et al., 2008) indicated that an Early to Middle Miocene section (223-1138.54 mbsf) was recovered. This study focuses on an interval with high concentrations of palynomorphs, located between 460.57 and 403.48 mbsf and dated to 16.7 Ma to 16.2 Ma according to the updated Acton et al. (2008) ANDRILL SMS age model. Palynological results show a pronounced increase in organic microfossils between 434.01 and 431.91 mbsf, compared to levels …

Palynological Analysis Of Tiger And Trinity Shoals, Louisiana Continental Shelf, Russell Ryan Crouch

LSU Master's Theses

Forty sediment samples taken from twenty-six vibracores collected from Holocene shoals (Tiger and Trinity) were processed for palynomorphs and analyzed to characterize the terrestrial and marine paleo-environments of southern Louisiana at the time of deposition of each shoal. Abundant and diverse pollen assemblages were recovered while marine microplankton were sparse (< 2% relative abundance). Pollen species were grouped by plants of similar environmental significances including arboreal, non-arboreal, aquatic, and shrub categories. Palynological signals were compared in detail between each core, as well as along strike and dip transects, to help determine whether or not these shoals were deposited coevally or in distinct depositional cycles. Evidence shows that Tiger and Trinity Shoals carry remarkably similar palynological profiles, indicating that sediments of these shoals areS from the same source, and that deposition extended over an interval of time such that climate change was not sufficient enough to alter the vegetation response (hence palynological signal). Pollen profiles show source sediments are predominantly from the lower Mississippi River drainage basin and exhibit species similar to those present in modern Louisiana coastal marshes and swamps (i.e., Taxodium distichum, Cyperaceae, Graminae, Chenopodiaceae, and Asteraceae), and coastal to upland hardwood forests of the Mississippi River alluvial valley (i.e., Pinus, Quercus, Carya, and Liquidambar styraciflua).

Paleogene Mirelands Of The Upper Mississippi Embayment, Western Kentucky, Jennifer Marie Klein O'Keefe

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Detailed petrography, geochemistry, and palynology together describe the depositional environments and paleoecology of an abandoned meander-fill system in western Kentucky. Oriented block petrography reveals alternating clay-rich and attrinite-rich zones of variable thickness. Woody tissues, where present, do not show dessication features and deflation layers could not be identified. Overall, petrography is indicative of a topogenous mire. Mire palyno-assemblages are less diverse than assemblages reported from clays in the region. Castanea-Cupuliferoidaepollenites assemblages dominate the entire system and other tree pollen are common; fungal spores are relatively uncommon. Weighted statistical analyses reveal ecological groupings beyond this dominance and define botanical succession within …

Alluvial Fan Deposits Of The Todos Santos Formation Of Central Chiapas, Mexico, Terence Cletus Blair

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The Todos Santos Formation at Jerico was deposited as an alluvial fan system by high gradient, short duration ephemeral streams which transported gravel, sand, and mud northeastward through a feeder canyon which opened out onto an alluvial plain. This alluvial fan system is composed of streamflood, debris flow, and braided stream deposits. Three distinct alluvial fan environments were distinguished at Jerico: proximal fan facies, mid-fan facies, and distal fan facies. Analysis of the vertical succession of these depositional facies reveals two proximal to distal alluvial fan transitions separated by a distal to proximal transition. This suggests that a period of …