Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of A Multiband Remote Sensing System For Determination Of Unsaturated Soil Properties, Cyrus D. Garner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A multiband system including active microwave sensing and visible-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was developed to measure unsaturated soil properties in both field and laboratory environments. Remote measurements of soil volumetric water content (θv), soil water matric potential (ψ), and soil index properties (liquid limit [LL], plastic limit [PL], and clay fraction [CF]) were conducted. Field-based measurement of θv was conducted using a ground-based radar system and field measurements within 10 percentage points of measurements acquired with traditional sampling techniques were obtained. Laboratory-based, visible and near infrared spectroscopy was found to be capable of obtaining empirical, soil specific regression functions (partial …

Comparison Of Flow Dynamics And Bifurcation Angles In Tributary And Distributary Channel Networks, Thomas Coffey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of channel mouth bifurcations on river deltas can be understood using theory developed in tributary channel networks. Bifurcations in groundwater-fed tributary networks have been shown to evolve dependent on diffusive ground water flow patterns

directly adjacent to the channel network, producing a critical angle of 72°. We test the hypothesis that bifurcation angles in distributary channel networks are likewise dictated by a diffusive external flow field, in this case the shallow surface water surrounding the subaqueous portion of distributary channels in a deltaic setting. We measured 25 unique distributary bifurcations in an experimental delta and 197 bifurcations in …

Lost Names In The Paleozoic Lithostratigraphy Of Arkansas, Noah Morris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The geology of Arkansas has been studied for nearly 160 years, and our understanding of it is continually evolving. Part of this ever-changing study is the nomenclature of the stratigraphy. From the early reports to today, several lithostratigraphic names have been proposed and abandoned to improve the accuracy and clarity of the understanding of Arkansas’ geology. Over these 160 years of study, 214 names have been proposed for the Paleozoic beds of Arkansas, with nearly 80 of them currently in use today. These names are a testimony and legacy of the history of Arkansas’ natural resource development and Arkansas’ geologists. …

Stratigraphy And Depositional Environment Of The Middle Atoka Formation, Central Arkoma Basin, Western Arkansas, Yueyang Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wire line logs are widely used in analysis of the subsurface stratigraphy of the middle Atoka Formation, Central Arkoma Basin, Western Arkansas. SP log, Gamma ray log, resistivity log and conductivity log provide valuable information to construct cross sections.

The middle Atoka formation is composed of a succession of shale and sandstone alternations with thickness reaching approximately 3000 feet in the study area. It contains several sandstone units which include Morris, Tackett, Areci, Bynum, Casey and Dunn”A” separated by shale intervals. The purpose of this study is to identify these units and predict sequence stratigraphy and depositional environment by constructing …

Sedimentary Petrology Of The Hartshorne Formation, Southeastern Arkoma Basin, Arkansas, Ruizhe Yin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Pennsylvanian Hartshorne Sandstone crops out in an east trending belt across central Arkansas immediately north of the Ouachita orogenic belt and south of the Boston Mountains. The unit, composed of massive to cross bedded sandstone ranging to 150m in thickness, was deposited by a west-flowing river system that extended from central Arkansas to southeastern Oklahoma. The source of the sediment has been extensively discussed but not completely established. The object of this thesis is to constrain the source area and terrain based on thin section mineralogy and texture. Thin sections were prepared from outcrops in the Arkoma Basin and …

Temporal Co2 Variations And The Influence Of Bat Colonies In Speleogenesis: Continuous Co2 Monitoring In War Eagle Cavern, Arkansas, Ginny Sue Holcomb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dissolved concentrations of CO2 in a karst aquifer are a major control on calcite dissolutional processes, as CO2 combines chemically with water to form carbonic acid. As increasing amounts of CO2 are added to the system, greater resultant water aggressivity generates greater rates of dissolution. Spatial and temporal variations in carbon flux through the system may occur over a range of time scales, and high-resolution data collection is needed to truly understand and characterize such variability. Continuous CO2 monitoring in War Eagle Cavern, Arkansas, will suggest a number of influential parameters with varying degrees of importance throughout an annual cycle. …

A Gis Approach To Modeling Groundwater Levels In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, Josef Orion Lilly

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater depletion, a subject of growing concern for a significant portion of Arkansas, may lead to future economic challenges for the Arkansas Delta region. The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer is the uppermost aquifer and features the largest groundwater capacity in the Mississippi Embayment Aquifer System. The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, commonly referred to as the “alluvial aquifer”, spans 53,000〖 km〗^2 underlying portions of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee. As the alluvial aquifer trends southward for approximately 250 miles alongside the Mississippi River, its geographical extent ranges from 50 to 125 miles wide. There is a …

Examining Denitrification In Agricultural Ditch Sediments Vegetated With Rice Cutgrass (Leersia Oryzoides): Modeling Seasonal Variation Across Increasing Levels Of Nitrate Loading And Model Application To Pre-Existing Datasets, Shannon Lee Speir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) derived from fertilizer application in agricultural systems may contribute to significant environmental impacts, including eutrophication of fresh and coastal waters. Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) can significantly enhance denitrification potential in agricultural ditch sediments, but relationships with known drivers are not well understood. To address this, I examined effects of nitrate (NO3-) availability on dinitrogen gas (N2) and NO3- fluxes seasonally in Chapter 2. Denitrification rates were measured as N2 flux from intact vegetated sediment cores using Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS). Michaelis-Menten models were developed from observations to mathematically describe N2 fluxes across the spring, summer, and fall …

Stratigraphy And Structure Of A South-Trending Structural High, Northern Arkoma Basin, Arkansas, Yirong Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a Carboniferous peripheral foreland basin in southeastern Oklahoma and west-central Arkansas. The formation of the Arkoma Basin is a result of a collision between the North American Plate and the Sabine Terrane. To the north of the basin, there is a structural high that extends southward from the Arkoma Shelf into the basin. This structure is in contrast with the prevailing east-trending strike of structures in the northern margin of the basin and is poorly defined. This paper examined the structure of the salient with stratigraphic and structural cross sections. Across the study area, two NS …

Implications For The North American Lower Crustal 7.Xx Km/S Layer From An Exhumed Crustal Root, Western Canadian Shield, Calvin Everette Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of the Thorsby magnetic low, the southern extent of the 2,800 km-long Snowbird

Tectonic Zone (STZ) in Alberta, Canada, show pronounced lower crustal seismic reflectivity and preservation of a crustal root. These features may be correlative to the well-exposed central STZ, where two lower crustal tectonic events have been identified at 2.6-2.55 Ga and 1.92-1.89 Ga. High-resolution cross-sections of the central STZ reveal the late-stage interaction of Paleoproterozoic intracontinental thrust and strike-slip shear zones responsible for juxtaposing ca. >20,000 km2 of lower continental crust (0.9-1.5 GPa) with middle continental crust (0.5 GPa) (Mahan and Williams, 2005; Dumond et al., …

3d Seismic Interpretation Of Paleokarst Sinkholes, Boone Limestone, Lower Mississippian: Subsurface Eastern Arkoma Basin, Conway County, Arkansas, Daniel James Moser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unconventional natural gas discoveries in the Fayetteville Shale of the eastern Arkoma Basin have led to improved understanding of subsurface geology in central Arkansas. This study interprets 3D seismic data for evidence of paleokarst within the Mississippian formations in a portion of the subsurface of Conway County, Arkansas. Quantitative data interpretation suggests that sinkholes developed during the Mississippian portion of the eastern Arkoma Basin record.

In a nine square mile area, 3D seismic mapping of Mississippian formations show 14 closed depressions interpreted as karst sinkholes. Time and depth structure maps were created and utilized to estimate the timing of dissolution …

Early And Middle Atokan Lithostratigraphy And Reservoir Development, Northern Arkoma Basin, Northwestern Arkansas, Matthew Alan Blaylock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a peripheral foreland arc basin associated with the Ouachita orogenic belt. In Arkansas, the basin is bounded by the Ouachita belt to the south and the Ozark Dome to the north. Sedimentary rocks of early to middle Atokan age are present in the shallow subsurface at the northern margin of the Arkoma Basin in northwestern Arkansas. Sedimentary units of this time interval reflect basinal subsidence, and the transition of the Arkoma Basin from a passive margin shelf to a rapidly evolving foreland arc basin. Sediment sources from the north and east produced a thickened Lower and …

Optical Water Quality And Human Perceptions Of Rivers, Amie West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding water quality dynamics in recreational rivers is integral in shaping management strategies that maintain ecosystem health, perceived value and appeal, and regional economic significance in a changing environment. Optical water quality describes the behavior of light in water as governed by its physical and chemical composition, and is among the strongest influences on human perceptions of water quality. Ethnohydrology is the study of culturally constructed knowledge and understanding of water. This work is the culmination of an interdisciplinary approach to water resources research—integrating optical water quality and ethnohydrology methods to recognize the intersection between measured water quality and visible …

Chlorine Demand Shows Thresholds And Hierarchy With Source Water Quality At Beaver Lake, Arkansas, Jaime M. Gile

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of source water quality in Beaver Lake on the amount of chlorine (Cl) needed to develop decision support system to help guide chlorination practices in pre-treatment of source water. Chlorine demand assays were performed on water samples from Beaver Lake collected from the intake structure at Beaver Water District from March 2014 through August 2015, and using data from these assays, the two points of interest in this study were the Cl dose at which Cl residuals began to accumulate and the mean Cl demand occurring after that dose. Three methods of analysis were used …

Do Limestone Quarries Act As “Engineered Sinkholes”? Analysis Of Exfiltration Of Groundwater From Limestone Quarries In The Boone Formation, Ozark Physiographic Province, Arkansas, Usa, Noel Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Limestone quarries are a source of construction materials that are utilized in our everyday lives. Karst landscapes cover up to 15 percent of the Earth’s surface, and limestone quarries are found in these environmentally sensitive regions where groundwater and surface-water interactions are dynamic and complex. Several studies have provided conceptual models of groundwater flow to and out of quarries. The goal of this research was to describe the geochemistry of water exfiltration from limestone quarries in karst regions via joints, fractures, faulting, or karst features and to determine if limestone quarries are “engineered sinkholes”; that is to say: did quarries, …

Evaluating A Measure-Calculate Method For Determining Sediment Oxygen Demand In Lakes, Adrian Beirise

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A steady-state mass diffusion model used with simple measurable and calculable inputs for determining sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is compared to an intact core incubation (ICI) SOD method using samples from three lakes. The mass diffusion model coupled with inputs is known as the measure-calculate method (M-C) and is a potential alternative to existing methods for measuring SOD which are more complex, time-consuming, and costly. The M-C method requires inputs for volumetric sediment oxygen uptake (Ṅsed), sediment density and porosity, and water properties. Ṅsed was determined by suspending sediment in oxygen-saturated water with a DO probe and determining the steady …

The Role Of Organic Matter In The Fate And Transport Of Antibiotic Resistance, Metals, And Nutrients In The Karst Of Northwest Arkansas, Victor Lee Roland Ii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organic matter (OM) in the environment acts as a nutrient, but may also act as a transport vector for harmful chemical compounds and bacteria. Acetate is a labile form of OM produced during fermentation in anaerobic lagoons used to store animal fecal-waste from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Dry and liquid fertilizers from CAFOs pose a threat to groundwater by introducing excessive amounts of nutrients (e.g. OM, nitrate and ammonia), metals, and antibiotic compounds. In the epikarst of Northern Arkansas in the Buffalo River watershed additional input of labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from liquid CAFO waste-fertilizers was hypothesized to …

Isotopic Identification Of Multiple Contributors Of Metal Ions In Mississippi Valley-Type Ore Deposits Along The Cincinnati Arch In South-Central Kentucky, William Travis Garmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) ores are economically-viable deposits of sulfide minerals, often dominated by sphalerite (zinc-sulfide) in carbonate facies, and galena (lead-sulfide) in siliciclastic facies. MVT ores precipitate from migrating fluids, which carry base metals often complexed with chlorine ions within a basinal brine. This study identifies metal-contributing source-regions of the Burkesville MVT deposit using Pb-isotope ratios within sphalerite samples collected from the Burkesville deposit. The deposit is found in south-central Kentucky within the Middle-Tennessee ore district along the crest of the Cincinnati Arch, which is the anticlinal divide between the Appalachian Basin and the Illinois Basin. Competing theories argue that …

Linear Trend Analysis: Implications For A Structural Fracture System And Applications Of Subsurface Fluid Migration, Northwest Arkansas And Eastern Oklahoma, Loren Labusch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lineaments are mappable, simple or composite linear or curvilinear features of the Earth’s surface longer than one mile, which differ from the patterns of adjacent features and are presumed to reflect subsurface phenomenon such as faults and fractures. The usage of the term refers to the description Lattman published in 1958 and was the foundation for work by MacDonald in 1977, which is the basis for this project. Remote sensing techniques have provided a valuable means to analyze lineaments on a large scale in a relatively short time in comparison to field mapping methods. The products of such fracture studies …

A Geochemical Analysis Of The Arkansas Novaculite And Comparison To The Siliceous Deposits Of The Boone Formation, John Byron Scott Philbrick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geochemical analyses of the Arkansas Novaculite, located within core structures of the Ouachita Mountains in west-central Arkansas, and penecontemporaneous chert of the lower Boone Formation, located atop the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northeast Oklahoma, have identified a significant concentration of both aluminum and potassium. This would seem to eliminate a biogenic origin and favor a volcanic source of the silica that comprises these units. Trace and rare earth element (REE) analysis also suggests that the Arkansas Novaculite and the chert in the lower Boone Formation may have both been formed from the same volcanic source.

The …

Statistical Analysis Of Fluvial Channel Belts, Kyle Ryan Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As meandering rivers laterally migrate over time, they build channel belts. The accumulation of all previous flow paths creates the channel belt. To better understand these ancient rivers, modern river systems are being mapped to find statistical relationships between current flow path and the channel belt of river systems. It is important to examine a wide range of systems in terms of age, size, and location. The rivers are being mapped using an ImageJ, interpretations from Saucier (1994) and Google Earth. Three channel belt morphologies are mapped for 15 modern channel belts; the width of the river in relation to …

Investigating Mineral Stability Under Venus Conditions: A Focus On The Venus Radar Anomalies, Erika Kohler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Radar studies of the surface of Venus have identified regions with high radar reflectivity concentrated in the Venusian highlands: between 2.5 and 4.75 km above a planetary radius of 6051 km, though it varies with latitude. Previous research has proposed several theories on the source of these anomalies, including increased surface roughness, metallic materials with higher dielectric constants, or ferroelectric materials. Prior work suggests several processes that could be the origin of these anomalies, such as surface-atmospheric interactions or low lying clouds or fog. Alternatively, these anomalies could result from a semi-metallic compound trapped at the cooler conditions in the …

Dietary Effects On The Stoichiometry Of Growth, Regulation, And Wastes Of Ozark Stream Insect Detritivores, Halvor Matthew Halvorson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A widespread stressor, anthropogenic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution can increase resource nutrient content and alter animal community composition in freshwater ecosystems. In this dissertation, I used ecological stoichiometry theory to examine effects of diet nutrient content and leaf litter type on growth, regulation, and wastes of aquatic invertebrate detritivores. I tested effects of leaf litter diet carbon:phosphorus (C:P) on growth and stoichiometric regulation of the detritivorous caddisfly Pycnopsyche lepida and used results to determine a threshold elemental ratio of oak litter C:P=1620 that confers peak growth of this species. This empirical, growth-based approach provided a more accurate estimate …

The Mass Flux Of Non-Renewable Energy For Humanity, Edwin Dale Solomon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The global energy supply relies on non-renewable energy sources, coal, crude oil, and natural gas, along with nuclear power from uranium and these finite resources are located within the upper few kilometers of the Earth’s crust. The total quantity of non-renewable energy resources consumed relative to the total quantity available is an essential question facing humanity. Analyses of energy consumption was conducted for the period 1800 – 2014 using data from the U. S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and World Energy Production, 1800-1985 to determine the balance between non-renewable energy resources consumed and ultimately recoverable reserves. Annual energy consumption was …

Stratigraphic Interpretation And Reservoir Implications Of The Arbuckle Group (Cambrian-Ordovician) Using 3d Seismic, Osage County, Oklahoma, Ryan Marc Keeling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arbuckle Group in northeastern Oklahoma consists of multiple carbonate formations, along with several relatively thin sandstone units. The group is a part of the “Great American Carbonate Bank” of the mid-continent and can be found regionally as far east as the Arkoma Basin in Arkansas, and as far west as the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. The Arbuckle is part of the craton-wide Sauk sequence, which is both underlain and overlain by regional unconformities.

Arbuckle is not deposited directly on top of a source rock. In order for reservoirs within the Arbuckle to become charged with hydrocarbons, they must be …

Influences Of Channel Dredging On Avulsion Potential At The Atchafalaya River, Gordon William Mccain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1950, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reported a rapid increase of water discharge from the Mississippi River to its distributary channel; the Atchafalaya River. If not prevented by man-made structures, the complete capture of the Mississippi River by the Atchafalaya River was predicted. The USACE report cites multiple causes for the observed increase in discharge partitioning, yet fails to assess the largescale channel dredging operations conducted throughout the Atchafalaya River Basin during the 1930's and 1940's as a potential cause for the increased discharge. To assess the role man-made interventions, specifically channel dredging, played in the increase …

Resolving Paragneiss Provenance At Grollier Lake In The Athabasca Granulite Terrane, Western Canadian Shield, Dustin Ply

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

U-Pb crystallization ages of metamorphic and detrital zircons from all three paragneiss samples fall into the range of ca. 1.85-2.59 Ga, excluding two much older grains. Evidence suggests that the paragneiss of Grollier Lake record deformation exclusively from the Taltson and Trans-Hudson orogenies. It is apparent from geochronological data that the Taltson orogeny played an exceedingly larger role in the deformation of these rocks than the Trans-Hudson. Deposition of the paragneiss protoliths most likely culminated between ca. 2037-1994 Ma with metamorphism ceasing by 1852.1 ± 11.1 Ma. The oldest overgrowth considered to be concordant is 1994 ± 12 Ma and …

The Structural Analysis Of Enola And Greenbrier, Arkansas Earthquake Swarms: Cause And Effect?, Minella Majenu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Almost 20 years after the remarkable earthquake swarm of 1982, near the town of Enola, Arkansas, with more than 40,000 micro-earthquakes, another event revisited the same North-Central Arkansas region in 2001. Nine years later, in 2010, a huge swarm event shook the northern part of Faulkner County, around the city of Guy. The following year, this seismic swarm event apparently migrated southward towards the city of Greenbrier, with an increase in the number of yearly recorded events. A 13km previously unrecognized, NE trending Guy-Greenbrier basement fault was revealed as a result of these swarm events.

Within the vicinity of the …

Modified Polysulfone Nanofiltration Membrane Synthesis For Hydraulic Fracturing Water Recycle, Blake Alexander Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of hydraulic fracturing has resulted in significant increases in the yield of oil and natural gas, as water pumped into wells at high pressure cracks the formations and releases the hydrocarbons that are locked in the rocks. This process has created large volumes of brackish water that is very difficult to process and is often disposed of into injection wells. Suspended solids and some dissolved solids are more readily removed, but the multivalent ions found in certain salts can precipitate in a well and complicate the reuse of flowback in future hydraulic fracturing operations.

Nanofiltration, a membrane separation …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Aqueous Geochemistry Of Chlorine Salts: Application To Stability And Habitability Of Liquid Brines On Mars, Amira Elsenousy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The WCL (Wet Chemistry Lab) instrument on board the Mars’s Phoenix Lander has identified the soluble ionic composition of the soil at the landing site. Two important ions were detected at the landing site; perchlorates (ClO4-) with a concentration of ~ 2.4 wt% and chlorides (Cl-) with a concentration of 0.54 wt%. Between chloride and perchlorate ions three other oxidized ions exist and called chlorine ions: hypochlorite ClO - (ox. state +1), chlorite ClO2- (ox. state +3) and chlorate ClO3- (ox. state +5). These oxidized ions might be existed as intermediate species on the surface of Mars but remained undetected. …