Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Characterizing Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings And Their Roles In Natural Attenuation At A Site With Historical Contamination, Han Hua

Dissertations

Reactive iron mineral coatings in redox transition zones play an important role in contaminant attenuation. These mineral coatings include poorly crystalline to crystalline iron sulfides, carbonates, and oxyhydroxides, and are a signature of the biogeochemical processes occurring. To better understand these processes, reactive iron mineral coatings are characterized in an 18-m Anaerobic Core collected from a contaminated industrial site. This study targets redox transition zones uncovered in the core. A suite of complementary analyses is applied to distinguish the surface coating mineralogy using X-ray Diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX). In …

Inventory Of Rock Glaciers In The American West And Their Topography And Climate, Allison Reese Trcka

Dissertations and Theses

Rock glaciers are flowing geomorphic landforms composed of an ice/debris mixture. A uniform rock glacier classification scheme was created for the western continental US, based on internationally recognized criteria, to merge the various regional published inventories. A total of 2249 rock glaciers (1564 active, 685 inactive) and 7852 features of interest were identified in 10 states (WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, UT, ID, MT, WY, CO, NM). Sulfur Creek rock glacier in Wyoming is the largest active rock glacier (2.39 km²). The mean area and elevation for active and inactive rock glaciers are 0.18 km², 3384 …

Crustal Evolution Of The New England Appalachians: The Rise And Fall Of A Long-Lived Orogenic Plateau, Ian Hillenbrand

Masters Theses

The rise and demise of mountain belts, caused by growth, modification, or removal of the continental lithosphere are fundamental processes that influence almost all Earth systems. Understanding the nature, timing, and significance of active processes in the creation and evolution of modern mountain belts is challenged by a lack of middle crustal and lower crustal exposures. Analogues can be found in ancient orogens, whose deeply eroded roots offer a window into deeper processes, yet this record is complicated by overprinting events and complex deformational histories. Research presented herein constrains the tectonic history of multistage Appalachian Orogen, type locality of the …

Magnetite Mineralization Of The Hammondville Pluton: Poly-Phase Kiruna Type Iocg Magnetite-Apatite Deposits In The Lyon Mountain Granite, Phillip Geer

Masters Theses

Recent mapping of the Eagle Lake Quadrangle, NY, coupled with whole-rock geochemistry and microscopy has offered insight into the petrogenesis of the magnetite-apatite deposits of the Hammondville mining district in the eastern Adirondack Mountains. This study provides insight into the magmatic history of the ca. 1060-1050 Ma Lyon Mountain Granite (Hammondville Pluton) which is intimately related to, and hosts the deposits in this area. Magnetite seams are commonly surrounded by well layered magnetite gneiss, which typically parallel the seams, although in some outcrops appear to be slightly truncated by them. Mineralization is generally concordant with the weak layering found throughout …

Implications And Significance Of Partial Melting On The Tectonic History Of The Eastern Adirondack Mountains, Claire Rose Pless

Doctoral Dissertations

The eastern Adirondack Mountains contain abundant exposures of high-grade metamorphic rocks. These exposures are interpreted to be a window into the mid/deep crust of an ancient, large, hot, long-duration orogen, allowing the Adirondack Mountains to be used as an analogue to the deep processes of modern orogens. Currently interpreted thermo-tectonic events in the eastern Adirondack Mountains include the ca. 1245-1220 Ma Elzevirian orogeny, the ca. 1190-1150 Ma Shawinigan orogeny, emplacement of the ca. 1150 Ma AMCG igneous suite, the ca. 1090-1050 Ma Ottawan orogeny, and a ca. 1050-1020 Ma extensional collapse phase. This dissertation focuses on six migmatite domains within …

Machine Learning Model Selection For Predicting Global Bathymetry, Nicholas P. Moran

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This work is concerned with the viability of Machine Learning (ML) in training models for predicting global bathymetry, and whether there is a best fit model for predicting that bathymetry. The desired result is an investigation of the ability for ML to be used in future prediction models and to experiment with multiple trained models to determine an optimum selection. Ocean features were aggregated from a set of external studies and placed into two minute spatial grids representing the earth's oceans. A set of regression models, classification models, and a novel classification model were then fit to this data and …

Hydrothermal Alteration Footprint Of The Monument Bay Project, Manitoba, Canada, Juliana Casali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Monument Bay (MB) project is a greenstone hosted gold deposit, located in NE Manitoba. Previous studies show significant gold grades in the area. This research aims to characterize and delineate the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the hydrothermal footprint and mineralization of MB. Combined synchrotron X-ray fluorescence, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, petrography, and electron microprobe techniques were used to support this study. Results indicate sericite and carbonate are the main hydrothermal alteration minerals with homogeneity in their mineralogical, textural, and geochemical characteristics across the deposit. Also, a strong relationship between Au, sericite alteration, and arsenopyrite grains is observed associating the …

Geometallurgy And Gold Mineralization Of The Monument Bay Project, Stull Lake Greenstone Belt, Manitoba, Canada, Chunyi Hao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Monument Bay Project is located in the Archean Stull Lake Greenstone Belt, in Northern Manitoba, Canada. This thesis focuses on the geometallurgy and gold mineralization of the Monument Bay Deposit in order to better understand the multiple gold mineralizing events and provide a pathfinder to gold mineralization. Traditional microscopy is used in combination with geochemical and mineralogical analytical techniques (Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS)/(WDS) element map) and synchrotron geochemical techniques (synchrotron X-ray Diffraction (SR-XRD), synchrotron micro X-ray fluorescence (SR-µXRF) mapping, X-ray Absorption Near-edge Structure (XANES) Spectroscopy). Metallic gold (Au⁰) exists as free gold …

Microstructural Constraints On The Nebular And Asteroidal Histories Of Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions From Cv3 Chondrites, Shaofan Che

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The petrology and mineralogy of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from CV3 carbonaceous chondrites have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The goal of this dissertation is twofold: (1) to gain new insights into the nebular processes, such as vapor-solid reactions, accretion, transport, that are responsible for the formation of non-igneous CAIs, and (2) to better understand the role of fluid in the secondary alteration of CAIs on the CV3 chondrite parent body. This work represents the first systematic microstructural study of CAIs from CV3 chondrites.

Chapter 2 presents the microstructural observations of primary mineralogies of fine-grained, spinel-rich inclusions (FGIs) from …

Petrology Of The Gradational Intrusive Contact Between The Packsaddle Schist And The Town Mountain Granite, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Llano Uplift, Central Texas, Travis Galle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mesoproterozoic intrusive contact between the ~1.1 Ga anorogenic Town Mountain Granite and the ~1.3 Ga Packsaddle Schist is a gradational contact exhumed within the Llano uplift. This contact is exposed along the southeastern margin of the Enchanted Rock batholith in central Texas. Field observations, hand sample and thin section petrography, and handheld X-ray fluorescence analysis of hand samples were used to characterize the gradational nature of this contact at multiple scales. The style of gradation between the Town Mountain Granite and Packsaddle Schist varies throughout the study area, containing both injection and permeation. The complex relationships observed at the …

Inter-Annual To Inter-Decadal Spatiotemporal Effects Of Storm And Nourishment Events In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Christina Mary Boyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Local Structure And Dynamic Studies Of Mixed Ch4-Co2 Gas Hydrates Via Computational Simulation And Neutron Scattering, Bernadette Rita Cladek

Doctoral Dissertations

Permeated throughout the ocean floor and arctic permafrost, natural gas hydrates contain an estimated 3000 trillion cubic meters, over three times that of traditional shale deposits, of CH₄ that is accessible for extraction. Gas hydrates are a crystal structure in which water molecules form a cage network, the host, through hydrogen bonds while trapping a guest molecule such as CH₄ in the cavities. These compounds form naturally where the appropriate low temperature and high pressure conditions occur. A promising and tested method of methane recovery is through exchange with CO₂, which energetically takes place of the …

Exploration Of Mid To Late Paleozoic Tectonics Along The Cincinnati Arch Using Gis And Python To Automate Geologic Data Extraction From Disparate Sources, Kenneth Steven Boling

Doctoral Dissertations

Structure contour maps are one of the most common methods of visualizing geologic horizons as three-dimensional surfaces. In addition to their practical applications in the oil and gas and mining industries, these maps can be used to evaluate the relationships of different geologic units in order to unravel the tectonic history of an area. The construction of high-resolution regional structure contour maps of a particular geologic horizon requires a significant volume of data that must be compiled from all available surface and subsurface sources. Processing these data using conventional methods and even basic GIS tools can be tedious and very …

Analyzing Strain Localization, Kinematic Partitioning And Fluid Flow In The Pulo Do Lobo Metasedimentary Rocks Along The Southern Iberian Shear Zone, Andalucia, Spain, Nancy Alejandra Carman

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone is a regional scale ductile shear zone that placed Beja-Acebuches metabasites over metapelite and quartzite rocks of the Pulo do Lobo Formation in a transpressional deformation with components of thrust and left-lateral movement. This project evaluates factors that contributed to strain localization at a variety of scales within the Pulo do Lobo formation, including lithologic variations, microstructures, and fluid flow. Additionally, microstructural data are used to test whether kinematic partitioning accompanied strain localization. Grain scale asymmetric indicators of sigma-type clasts, S-C fabrics, and asymmetric folds indicate dominant thrust motion. Strain intensity and metamorphic grade increase …

Surface Alteration In The Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, And Geysir Hydrothermal Systems, Iceland: Implications For Mars, Jordan Ludyan

Theses and Dissertations

Silica- and sulfate-rich deposits observed by Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit near Home Plate, Gusev crater, Mars, indicate alteration of Mars basalt by a diverse array of hydrothermal fluids and processes. Constraining the precise fluid conditions present at the time of deposition for these deposits on Mars relies on investigations of terrestrial hydrothermal systems that produce similar mineral assemblages. Alteration products and fluids collected from the Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, and Geysir hydrothermal areas in southern Iceland cover a wide range of end-member and intermediate fluid and alteration environments, and provide a means to compare the secondary minerals produced from different hydrothermal …

Microbe-Mineral Interactions During Exceptional Fossil Preservation, Stromatolite Formation, And Desert Varnish Growth, Michael Strange

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Ediacaran to Cambrian Deep Spring Formation consists of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata which contain an increasingly complex and biogeographically important biota. Past investigations of the Deep Spring Formation at Mt. Dunfee, Nevada, explored the highly diverse microbialite reefs consisting of a wide range of stromatolite morphologies which exerted significant control on local sedimentation and topography. Early investigations also documented the biomineralizing metazoan Cloudina (an Ediacaran index fossil). However, recent exploration of the area has resulted in the discovery of several new metazoan fossil communities consisting of a diverse assemblage of Ediacaran soft-tissue tubicolous vermiforms (tube fossils) similar to Cloudina. The …

Hazard Analysis Of A Segment Of Highway Sr-12 Through Bryce Canyon National Park, Southern Utah, Tomsen Reed

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Over 2.6 million people travel along highway SR-12, a National Scenic Byway, through Bryce Canyon in southern Utah each year. This highway is a major thoroughfare for tourists traveling to Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and other scenic attractions. SR-12 is susceptible to rockfall and landslide hazards where it descends from the Paunsaugunt Plateau into Tropic Canyon, and these hazards have potential consequences of economic loss due to travel delays for tourists and commodities, and possible loss of life. Rockfall could have devastating effects at this location because of the traffic volume, sharp turns, low visibility, and …

Electron Microprobe In Situ Monazite Dating Of The Slide Lake Shear Zone, Jeremy Leierzapf

Masters Theses

The Colorado mineral belt (CMB) shear zone system records Proterozoic deformation episodes documenting the progressive tectonic accretion of Laurentia. Regional fold formation (D₁ & D₂) is coeval with the ca. 1700 – 1600 Ma Yavapai and Mazatzal orogenies, while Mesoproterozoic sub-vertical shear zones (D₃ & D₄) are a response to 1450 – 1300 Ma intracontinental deformation. The Slide Lake shear zone (SLSZ) is a sub-horizontal shear zone located in the Northern Sawatch Range, central Colorado. Aside from its orientation, the SLSZ records similar deformational structures to other shear zones in the CMB, but there …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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

The Persistence Of Acid Mine Drainage At An East Texas Coal Mine, Sarah Zagurski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to estimate the time it will take for acid forming materials (pyrite) to be weathered to a state of equilibrium and thus cease to produce acid in ground and surface waters within Oak Hill Mine. This was accomplished using an ex-situ kinetic leaching study incorporating a humidity cell in a controlled laboratory setting. Leaching was conducted on soil cores obtained from the vadose zone at Oak Hill Mine and the humidity cell was used to accelerate oxidation of the pyrite within the cores.

An in-situ field study was also conducted that monitored groundwater conditions …

Stratigraphy, Petrology, Diagenesis, Paleontology, And Depositional Environments Of The Harrisburg Member Of The Kaibab Formation In Northern Arizona And Southern Utah, Zachery T. Case

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kaibab Formation has two members, the Fossil Mountain Member below and the Harrisburg Member above. They were deposited in shallow-marine shelf to restricted coastal settings. Stratigraphically above are the Rock Canyon Conglomerate and the Moenkopi Formation; consisting of the Timpoweap and Lower Red members; which are the only members present in the study area. The Rock Canyon Conglomerate was deposited in depressions and as a regolith. The Timpoweap and Lower Red members were deposited in shallow marine to tidal environments.

Nine stratigraphic units were identified in the Harrisburg Member. Units one, two, three, five, six, seven, and nine are …

Agricultural Irrigation Induced Evaporation In A Temperate Study Area: A Stable Isotope Approach, Lincoln Grevengoed

Masters Theses

In regions where groundwater is used for irrigation, significant water losses take place due to evaporation. Previous studies demonstrated the utility of stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in estimating evaporative water loss experienced during return flow back to an aquifer. Unlike arid regions where the other studies took place, this study examined the region around Kalamazoo, Michigan, the United States, which experiences a more temperate climate. Irrigation in the Kalamazoo area primarily uses center-pivot systems supplied by wells, unlike flood irrigation in previous study areas. Water samples were taken periodically from wells close to center-pivot irrigation systems. Water losses due …

Monitoring Salt Diapir Related Land Deformation And Distribution: A Geophysical And Remote Sensing Approach Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia, Hannah G. Pankratz

Dissertations

Salt diapirs are rarely preserved on the surface and seldom considered as environmental hazards. The Jazan city diapir (JZD) is located in southwest Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coastal plain and outcrops in the middle of a rapidly growing port city. The intrusion of the diapir (~ 2 km²) into the overburden sediments continues to cause uneven surfaces, compromises building foundations and infrastructure, caused dissolution sinkholes, and limits the expansion of the city along the coastline. This research aims to better understand the distribution and deformation associated with salt diapirs in arid environments.

Using integrated Interferometric Synthetic …

Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy, And High-Precision U-Pb Age Constraints On The Late Paleozoic Ansilta Formation, Calingasta-Uspallata Basin, Nw Argentina, John Ethan Malone

Theses and Dissertations

The Ansilta Formation, located several kilometers east of the Astronomical Observatory El Leoncito near Barreal, San Juan Province, Argentina was deposited during the late Mississippian to early Pennsylvanian. This succession includes glacimarine, nearshore, and fluvial systems deposited at the mid-Carboniferous portion of the late Paleozoic ice age within the Calingasta—Uspallata Basin on the western margin of the Protoprecordillera. The lower member of the Ansilta Formation is equivalent to the nearby Leoncito, Majaditas, and Hoyada Verde formations, and is composed of diamictite, conglomerates, sandstones, pebbly mudstones, and laminated mudstone. Glacial environments are unique in that facies changes occur as a result …

Investigating The Timing Of Initial Louann Salt Flow And Its Relationship With The Gilbertown Fault Zone, Southwest Alabama, Avery Rosenbalm

Master's Theses

The Mesozoic Louann Salt extends through the northern GOM, extending onshore from eastern Texas to western Alabama and Florida. Along the landward terminus of the salt is a system of peripheral faults, including the Gilbertown Fault Zone bordering the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin to the north and east. This study sought to constrain the timing of fault movement and determine its relationship to the baswinward evacuation of Louann Salt through the use of a 3D seismic survey and well logs. By mapping Mesozoic formations and the peripheral fault system, lateral changes in formation thickness were used to generate fault expansion …

Assessing The Recalibration Interval For Nearshore Sediment Assemblages After Hurricane Irma: Implications For Developing Long-Term Records Of Overwash Deposits, Stephen Mitchell

Master's Theses

Surface distributions are commonly collected to assist with overwash interpretation; however, many of these are first established immediately after a major overwash event as part of a post-event field survey. This study documents the impacts of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, on nearshore sediments off the coast of Anegada (British Virgin Islands) using distributions of Homotrema rubra, an encrusting foraminifer with a defined provenance in coral reef ecosystems. Over four sampling intervals spanning 2 years, from six months pre-Hurricane Irma to 18 months post-Hurricane Irma, surface sediment was collected from three shore-perpendicular transects on both the northern and …

Sediment Provenance Of Tsunami Deposits: Implications For Assessing The Relative Intensity Of Paleotsunamis From The Sendai Coastline Of Japan, Tiffany Otai

Master's Theses

The 2011 Tohoku tsunami impacted the northeastern coast of Japan and caused unexpected damages due to the underestimation of this type of hazard. Of particular importance is the fact that geologic evidence for a predecessor event, the Jogan tsunami (CE 869), could have forecasted the severity of the 2011 Tohoku event. While the timing of tsunamis is important for effective hazard mitigation, outside of the 2011 Tohoku event, the intensity of past tsunamis remains unclear. To understand paleotsunami intensity, it is important to document characteristics of modern analogues like the 2011 event. This study utilizes surface distributions of foraminifera from …

Paleotectonic Investigation By Successive 3d Seismic Horizon Flattening In The Pennsylvanian Interval Of Western Osage County, Oklahoma, Douglas Cooper Mccabe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

3D seismic and well log data in Western Osage County, Oklahoma, are utilized to evaluate possible intracratonic tectonic signals present in the subsurface stratigraphy of the Cherokee Platform as a result of the regional tectonic events of Pennsylvanian age. These events include: the Wichita, Ouachita, and Arbuckle orogenies, the Nemaha and Ozark Uplifts, and the Southeast Oklahoma Aulacogen. Horizon flattening within 3D seismic volumes allows for identification of paleotectonic structures and syntectonic depositional features, which may be related to the collateral effects of these orogenies on the Cherokee Platform. Identified structures were assigned geologic ages using precision synthetic seismograms tuned …

Framework Grain Composition And Texture Of The Wedington Sandstone Member, Fayetteville Shale, As A Provenance And Sediment Dispersal Indicator For Clastic Depositional Systems Across The Northern Arkansas Structural Platform During The Late Mississippian, Tanner Wayne Corbin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Wedington Sandstone Member of the Fayetteville Shale is a constructive delta complex in the Chesterian section of the Late Mississippian record in Northwest Arkansas. A comparative analysis of framework grain composition between the Wedington and two other stratigraphically proximal Carboniferous sandstones: the Batesville Sandstone (older) and the Basal Atoka-Spiro Sandstone (younger) has addressed three questions: 1) Is there similarity in sediment provenance for the three sandstones? 2) Do these three sandstone units have a similar sediment dispersal vector? 3) What are likely sediment source terrains for the Wedington Sandstone? Wedington samples overwhelmingly plot as quartzarenites with fewer samples plotting …

Exploring Sediment Compaction In Experimental Deltas: Towards A Meso-Scale Understanding Of Coastal Subsidence Patterns, Samuel Mason Zapp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Subsidence in low elevation coastal areas has been extensively researched through direct field measurement, numerical modelling, and stratigraphic reconstruction of ancient sediment deposits. Here I present the first investigation of subsidence due to sediment compaction and consolidation in two laboratory scale river delta experiments. Compactional subsidence rates have never been thoroughly quantified in the experimental setting, though this mechanism is found to be a primary creator of total relative sea level rise which will likely cause coastlines to retreat in the coming years. Spatial and temporal trends in subsidence rates in the experimental setting may elucidate behavior which cannot be …