Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Petrographic Observations Of Stromatolites In The Late Cambrian To Early Ordovician Knox Group, Northwest Georgia And Their Relationship To Stromatolitic Fabrics Over Geologic Time, Evan Ritchey

Honors Theses

Silica deposits are common in Proterozoic carbonate platforms and are interpreted to form early in the diagenetic history of the carbonate strata. Black early diagenetic chert deposits are often associated with evidence of ancient microbial mats, or stromatolites. Proterozoic chert nodules can contain well-preserved microfossils, because silicification occurs rapidly; however, silica deposition has changed over time and it is unclear if similar deposits exist in the Cambrian period after silica-utilizing organisms evolved. The Copper Ridge Dolomite in the Knox Group, northwest Georgia, which was deposited in the late Cambrian to early Ordovician, contains black chert nodules that follow the structure …

Faunal Comparison And Analysis Of The Blufftown Formation-Cusseta Sand Contact At Hannahatchee Creek, Georgia, Seth Fradella

Honors Theses

The origin of fossil material in the highly fossiliferous bed above the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Blufftown Formation-Cusseta Sand contact at Hannahatchee Creek, Georgia, has long been a subject of scientific curiosity; however, no research has yet been conducted to specifically investigate discrepancies between the fossil assemblages of the upper Blufftown Formation and the basal Cusseta Sand, which overlies it unconformably. In the most recent published hypothesis, Case and Schwimmer (1988) propose that the basal Cusseta Sand contains a mixture of original fauna as well as material reworked and redeposited from the underlying Blufftown Formation, resulting in a lag deposit above …

A Faunal Composition Of The Late Cretaceous Blue Springs Site In Northeastern Mississippi And Evidence For Potential Paleoenvironmental Differences Between Beds, Ginger Trochesset

Honors Theses

The Maastrichtian-age Blue Springs locality of the Coon Creek Member of the Ripley Formation is known for abundant, well-preserved marine fossils, including many genera of microfossils, bivalves, gastropods, decapods, cephalopods, actinopterygians, and other vertebrate organisms. This research contributes to the understanding of the paleontology of the site, as well as the changing paleoenvironmental conditions of the beds throughout deposition.

This project analyzed bulk material collected in 2021 from three fossiliferous beds at Blue Springs: the Lower Corbula Bed (Bed C), the Pebble Bed (Bed G), and the Exogyra-Pycnodonte Bed (Bed J). Unconsolidated material from Beds C and J was processed …

Fluid Pathways In Magmatic Fluid-Dominated Hydrothermal System: Upper Resurgent Cone, Brothers Volcano, New Zealand, Esther G. Goita

Honors Theses

The Tonga-Kermadec Arc is an active volcanic arc located between New Zealand and Fiji. The arc expands over an approximate distance of 2530 km. The Kermadec Arc is currently host to over 30 volcanoes, the majority of which are submarine. The magmatic activity along the arc is characterized by the convergence between the Pacific and Australian plates. Brothers volcano is the most active hydrothermal system along the Kermadec arc and hosts two distinct hydrothermal systems, one magmatic fluid dominated, and the other seawater dominated, making the site perfect for studying nascent volcanogenic massive sulfide formation and fluid pathways. The International …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Floodplain Topography And Channel Avulsion: Evidence From The Devonian Catskill Formation, North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Molly O'Halloran

Honors Theses

Topographic complexity on floodplains can route flow, control sediment dispersal, and influence channel behavior, but studying floodplain-channel interactions in modern rivers is challenging because of human modifications and the short timescales of observable data. This project assesses the link between different types of floodplain microtopography and avulsion style in the Devonian Catskill Formation, north-central Pennsylvania, where thick stacks of fluvial strata provide a lengthy record of channel-floodplain interaction. Using a combination of field observations and computer modeling, this study identifies sedimentary features indicative of floodplain complexity and analyzes their impact on avulsion style at fourteen Catskill Formation outcrops.

Based on …

Mercury Emissions From Iron Mining And Copper Mining In The Upper Peninsula, Michigan, Ahmed Al Rahbi

Honors Theses

The wealth in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been intimately linked with mining, particularly the extraction of iron and copper. Iron was deposited in the Upper Peninsula 1.9 billion years ago (Gogebic and Ranges, 2020), and copper deposits are believed to be 1.1 billion years old (Blakemore et al., 2016). In the Upper Peninsula, mercury occurs naturally in taconite (iron ore) as elemental mercury (Hg⁰), and within the copper ores as “Mercury copper amalgam” (CuHg). When elemental mercury is released from the ores, it oxidizes in the atmosphere to form inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) (Risher, 2003; …

Rutile As A Provenance Indicator For The Camerino Sandstone Of The Camerino Basin, Apennine Mountain Region, Italy, Wendy Bogil

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Groundwater Isotopes Across Scales: Continent-Wide Modeling And Local Field Characterization, Jaclyn Gehring

Honors Theses

Groundwater is one of the world’s most important natural resources. The use of stable water isotopes (𝛿²H and 𝛿¹⁸O) as natural tracers through the water cycle has provided a unique observational technique for characterizing hydrological processes and establishing connections between water distribution systems and their respective environmental sources. Groundwater contains information about the timing and efficiency of recharge, allowing for the use of isotopes to understand the physical hydrology and climatic influences on such processes in places with groundwater isotope measurements. We estimate the seasonal recharge proportion and efficiency at thousands of locations across the U.S., …

Crabs From The Cane River Formation Of Northern Louisiana: A Study Of Neozanthopsis Americana And Associated Fauna, Katie Mclain

Honors Theses

Neozanthopsis Americana is a crab from the middle Eocene Claiborne Group that lived along the Gulf of Mexico, and has been documented in Texas and Louisiana. This species was discovered by Rathburn (1928) and was later amended and added to by Schweitzer (2014). The specimens in this paper are found near Natchitoches, Louisiana, and along with their accompanying fossils are used to describe the depositional environment of the locality. Sediments were taken from the site and analyzed under a standard microscope for microfossils, which were collected and further analyzed under scanning electron microscope. In addition to the microfossils, the cuticles …

Test Using Sedimentary Records To Quantify Extreme Paleo-Flood: A Case Study Of An Oxbow Lake In South Carolina, Molly Aeschliman

Honors Theses

Extreme flooding has become an increasing issue along the coasts for people’s health and infrastructure stability. As the effect of climate change continues to persist, the need to prepare for such events becomes imperative. To improve the understanding of climatic forecasting with regards to extreme flooding, there is merit in searching flooding history beyond the instrumental records. There has been some work done in the past to correlate extreme flooding and its sedimentary traces preserved in floodplain depressions, such as oxbow lakes, based on the assumption that the coarser grain sediments in the sediment layers correspond with higher peak discharges …

Using Foraminifera To Identify Overwash Deposits In St Vincent Island, Florida In The Wake Of Hurricane Michael, Kayla Washington

Honors Theses

Major hurricanes have geomorphic and stratigraphic impacts in coast environments that can be used to identify and characterize the storms. One of the approaches to identify storm impact is by studying assemblage of foraminifera, small organisms that live primarily in marine environments with some species living in marshes, in coastal marshes or ponds, with the assumption that storm-induced overwash flooding brings marine species ashore. Hurricane Michael made landfall ~40 km northwest of St Vincent Island (SVI), Florida, on October 10, 2018, as a Category 5 storm. The storm surge of Michael inundated a large part of SVI, which offers a …

Crystalline Architecture And Stratigraphy Of Coral Skeletal Density Banding: A Geobiological Record Of Changing Coral Reef Ecology, Kyle Fouke

Honors Theses

Coral skeletal density banding (CSDB), composed of alternating high density band (HDB) and low density band (LDB) layers that comprise the CaCO₃ (aragonite) skeleton of scleractinian corals, are used as chronometers for global paleoclimatic reconstructions of sea surface temperature (SST). Scleractinian coral skeletons have been intensively studied for centuries with detail analysis of the macro- and microscale skeletal structure to establish taxonomic and evolutionary relationships of coral species, mechanisms of biomineralization, and seafloor physical, chemical and biological alteration (diagenesis) of the skeleton. This study is the first to determine the crystalline architecture of HDBs and CSDB stratigraphic …

Fluvial Sedimentology And Architecture Of Two Latest Devonian Lower Huntley Mountain Formation Outcrops, North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Evan W. Filion

Honors Theses

Thick successions of river deposits accumulated in the north-central Pennsylvania region of the Appalachian foreland basin during Late Devonian time (~380-360 Ma). The properties and morphologies of these paleorivers are not well characterized. Latest Devonian tectonic, climatic, and eustatic controls on river dynamics and basin infilling also remain unclear. This study assesses the sedimentology, facies architecture, paleochannel depths, and grain size of a 133 m thick section of fluvial strata exposed across two outcrops, Blossburg South (older) and Blossburg West (younger), mapped as lower Huntley Mountain Formation near Blossburg, Pennsylvania. Field-based lithofacies observations, high-resolution panoramic photography, terrestrial lidar scanning, and …

Stratigraphic Interpretations Of Eocene Winona And Tallahatta Formations In The Duffee Quadrangle, Ms, Sydney Kennedy

Honors Theses

Outcrops and exposures of the Winona and Tallahatta formations in the Duffee Quadrangle in Newton and Lauderdale counties were mapped and analyzed. The rock type, composition, structures, and fossils were identified at each site; unit thicknesses were measured, and stratigraphic relationships were analyzed for available exposures. Using GPS coordinates, each site was mapped on Google Earth Pro. The data collected at each site, aerial photographs, and topographic maps were used to identify each formation. The variability between previous works and this study was analyzed. The primary rock type found in the Tallahatta Formation is siliciclastic silty claystone and sandstone; some …

Determining The Depositional Environment Of Amherstburg Formation, Elizabeth Gaines

Honors Theses

The Amherstburg Formation is a unit that stretches from Ontario to Michigan and was deposited during the Devonian Period. The goal of this project was to determine the depositional environment of the Amherstburg Formation. Facies associations were defined based on observations from three cores in northern and southeastern Michigan and later grouped into facies associations. The four facies associations were reef rubble, lagoonal, lagoonal and reef-rubble, and lagoonal and peritidal environments. These environments were deposited as laterally adjacent environments along a ramp shelf in a humid tropical climate. Sea level was relatively high during the deposition of the Amherstburg Formation. …

Transitional Granulite-Facies Mafic Xenoliths In The 2.8 Ga Trondjhemite-Tonalite-Granodiorite (Ttg) Gneisses Of The Eastern Beartooth Mountains, Mt/Wy: Evidence For Variable Fluid Interactions, Andrew W. Osborne

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity And Distribution Of Benthic Foraminifera In Harrington Sound, Bermuda: The Effects Of Physical And Geochemical Factors On Dominant Taxa, Nam Le

Honors Theses

Harrington Sound, Bermuda, is a nearly enclosed lagoon acting as a subtropical/tropical, carbonate-rich basin in which carbonate sediments, reef patches, and carbonate-producing organisms accumulate. Here, one of the most important calcareous groups is the Foraminifera. Analyses of common benthic orders, including miliolids (Quinqueloculina and Triloculina spp.) and rotaliids (Homotrema rubrum, Elphidium spp., and Ammonia beccarii), are essential in understanding past and present environmental conditions affecting the island's coastal environment. These taxa have been studied previously; however, factors explaining their individual patterns of abundance in the Sound are not well detailed. The goal of this study is …

Late Devonian Sedimentary Record Of Appalachian Tectonics And Erosion: Geochronology And Geochemistry Of Detrital Muscovite And Zircon From Central Pennsylvania Strata, Cole T. Gardner

Honors Theses

Foreland basin sediment deposition in North-Central Pennsylvania during Late Devonian time records erosion of hinterland source terranes exhumed during regional plate convergence, including the collisional Acadian orogeny. The Catskill clastic wedge preserves a coarsening-upwards stratigraphic succession from marine to fluvial environments associated with sediment progradation and sea-level regression, yet depositional timescales and quantitative provenance data are largely unconstrained.

Detailed facies analysis of eight outcrops spanning >2 km of stratigraphy in Lycoming Co., Pennsylvania documents distinct upsection changes, interpreted to reflect changes in depositional environments consistent with previous sedimentology of the Catskill clastic wedge. Stratigraphy displays a transition from nearshore marine …

Petrology And Thermodynamic Modeling Of Amphibolite Facies Rocks Of The Blåhø Nappe Of The Middle Allochthon, Scandinavian Caledonides In Norway, Maria Van Nostrand

Honors Theses

The Scandinavian Caledonides are an orogenic belt formed when Baltica collided with Laurentia during the late Silurian to early Devonian (Scandian, ~426–390 Ma, Gee et al., 2008). The thrust sheets forming the belt are divided into the Lower, Middle, Upper, and Uppermost Allochthons derived, respectively, from the Baltican margin and regions progressively farther outboard. This study focuses on the Blåhø Nappe, part of the Middle Allochthon, which is generally presumed to have been from an Early Paleozoic volcanic arc off the Baltican margin. The Blåhø Nappe contains abundant igneous and sedimentary rocks, metamorphosed almost entirely at amphibolite facies, but contains …

Characterization Of Glacial Sediments From A 700,000-Year-Old Lake Junín Drill Core, Tshering Lama Sherpa

Honors Theses

Lake Junín (11.0°S, 76.2°W) is an intermontane lake at an elevation of 4085 masl in Junín, Peru. The lake spans ~300 km2 and has a water depth of ~12m. It is dammed at its northern and southern ends by glacial alluvial fans that have been dated >250 ka, indicating that the lake is at least this old. Lake Junín has never been overridden by ice in the past 1 million years making it one of the few lakes in the tropical Andes that predates the last maximum extent of glaciation and has a continuous record of waxing and waning of …

Characterization Of Metamorphic Zones In The Tennessee Blue Ridge Using Gis And Digital Imaging Processing, Hayley Beitel

Honors Theses

The origin of metamorphic zones of the Blue Ridge is attributed to metamorphic events that affected sedimentary rocks of debated age, leading the topic to be controversial and continuously studied. The present study seeks to refine the metamorphic isograds of the Tennessee Blue Ridge based on Barrovian index minerals in pelitic rocks and the texture patterns these pelitic rocks present. Methods used in the present study are supported by conventional petrography, powder X-ray diffraction, and by GIS and digital image processing. Metamorphic isograds in the Blue Ridge have been determined mainly by identification of index minerals using a polarizing petrographic …

Calcic Paleosols In A Stratigraphic Context From Quaggasfontein, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Correlations In The Wapadsberg Pass Area And Implications For Late Permian Climate, Kaci B. Kus

Honors Theses

The Karoo Basin, South Africa, contains a reportedly continuous stratigraphic record spanning the terrestrial vertebrate extinction event equated with the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) in the marine record. The current hypothesis links this major loss in biodiversity and vertebrate turnover to a global change in climate towards aridification. Rapid climate change is interpreted to be reflected in continental rocks by a changeover from (1) greenish (Permian) to reddish (Triassic) mudrock, (2) a transition in the river architectures from meandering to braided regimes, and (3) wetland to calcic-bearing paleosols. Here, we present geochemical results on a 1.3-meter calcic paleoVertisol interval found ~34 …

Correlation Of Sand Reservoirs Of The Lower Tuscaloosa Formation In The Smithdale And East Fork Fields In Amite County, Mississippi, Alexandra Warren

Honors Theses

The Upper Cretaceous Lower Tuscaloosa Formation has been a major hydrocarbon producer in southwest Mississippi since the 1940s, with discovered oil reserves in the billions of barrels. The mid-Cenomanian unconformity underlying the Lower Tuscaloosa created an extensive network of incised valleys. The transgressive sequences that occurred during the deposition of the Massive and Stringer Sand Members filled the incised valleys with sediments, due to the low accommodation space, and this created a series of stacked channel sand deposits. The Smithdale and East Fork oil fields located in Amite County, Mississippi produce from the Stringer Sand Member of the Lower Tuscaloosa. …

Provenance Of And Age Of Granitoid And Sandstone Clasts In Conglomerates Of The Paleocene To Upper Cretaceous Yakutat Group, Russell Fjord, Alaska, Alexander Dolcimascolo

Honors Theses

The Paleocene to Upper Cretaceous Yakutat Group consists of a flysch facies. A conglomerate occurs in two places in Russell Fjord, and the composition and age of clasts bears on tectonic reconstructions. One site (#23) occurs in what is mapped as flysch and one in the mélange (#25), but the conglomerates are essentially identical. They contain clasts of sandstone, greenstone, limestone, marble, chert, and plutonic rocks that are clast supported, and interbedded with sandstones that contain coalified plant fragments. The maximum depositional age (MDA) of the U/Pb-dated zircons from the sandstone is 65.9 ± 1.8 Ma and 65.6 ± 2.2 …

Apatite Chemistry And Zoning In The Roseau Valley, Dominica, Lesser Antilles, Katherine Swager

Honors Theses

The island of Dominica is located in the center of the Lesser Antilles island arc. Located in the southwestern part of the island, the Roseau Valley contains a thick and complex stratigraphy of pyroclastic flows that terminate in the sea on the western side of the island near the capital of Roseau, likely originating from the Wotten Waven caldera, now partially capped by the Micotrin dome (Sigurdsson, 1972). We have dated several ignimbrite deposit using U-Th analyses of zircon rims. The ages of five deposits within the valley show polymodal distributions, suggesting multiple periods of crystallization (~6 ka - 250 …

Karst Sub-Basin Delineation Via Dye Trace Study Near Turnhole Bend, Mammoth Cave National Park, Jake Tholen

Honors Theses

Establishing watershed boundaries is a critical stage in understanding the local water cycle. Drainage basins are typically identified by topographic divides; water flows to successively lower locations along the most direct path available. The karst terrain in Mammoth Cave National Park, however, presents additional challenges in identifying the boundaries of these basins. Underground drainages in the form of caves or conduits often do not correspond with surface topography. These passages can redirect water far from the most immediate surface release.

A dye trace study is designed to identify flow paths from the surface to springs along the Green River. Three …

Assessment Of Vadose-Zone Wells For Enhancing Groundwater Recharge In The Mississippi Delta, Luke Jenkins

Honors Theses

Current pumping rates in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer in the Mississippi Delta are unsustainable as they are depleting the water level in the aquifer. The following thesis is a feasibility analysis on groundwater recharge to the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer using vadose zone wells. Two days were spent in the field at Sky Lake near Belzoni, Mississippi, collecting core soil samples, bag soil samples, and constant head hydraulic conductivity values. Numerous days were spent in the lab conducting sieve analyses, Atterberg limits, and falling head hydraulic conductivity tests. The Atterberg limit test and sieve analyses were used …

America's National Parks And The Anthropocene: Addressing The Present To Accommodate The Future In Acadia National Park, Sophie A. Swetz

Honors Theses

In 2000, atmospheric chemist, Paul J. Crutzen, and limnologist, Eugene Stoermer, formally proposed the idea of “the Anthropocene,” a new geologic epoch in which humans are the dominant force shaping the Earth. To claim the Anthropocene's existence is to declare that human actions have altered the Earth in such a way that geologic indicators render it a distinct epoch in the stratification of geologic time. This new epoch emerges as a consequence of increased technological development employed to accommodate an anthropocentric human existence. That is, rapid advancements in technology have driven the transformation from a primarily naturally controlled planet to …

Comparing Field And Laboratory Measurements Of Hydraulic Conductivity In The Mississippi Delta, Taylor Moore

Honors Theses

This research is part of a wider effort to investigate the decreasing water levels of the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA), which is partially located in the Mississippi Delta in northwestern Mississippi. The extent of this research compares laboratory and field based measurements of saturated hydraulic conductivity, known as Ksat, in the vadose zone of the Delta. The soil samples used for the laboratory Ksat tests and textural analysis were collected at various depths from two boreholes near Sky Lake in Belzoni, Mississippi. Each sample was classified by Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) standards after being sieved and tested …

Facies Reconstruction And Stratigraphy Of A Late Pleistocene Bald Cypress Forest Discovered On The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Continental Shelf, Suyapa Gonzalez-Rodriguez

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.